The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center is targeting a July 7 opening, which would commemorate a birthday for the late tennis standout from Zephyrhills who perished in a 2015 car crash. At the time, the 21-year-old was on the women’s team at University of South Carolina Upstate.

“The building’s definitely moving forward with the concrete slab and the structure,” said Todd Vande Berg, the city’s planner and Sarah’s father. “Everything is moving forward.”

Pascal Collard, who formerly ran the tennis program at Saddlebrook Resort, will manage the facility. He envisions the tennis center luring thousands — locally, nationally and even international players — to the east Pasco area.

“It’s happening and it’s very exciting,” Collard said. “For the community it’s going to be unique.”

The $5 million project entails quite a bit besides tennis. There will be 11 outdoor courts (eight clay, two hard-surface and one exhibition) for that sport, along with eight pickleball and four padel courts. Pickleball ranks among the fastest-growing sports in the nation while padel is another racquet sport played in close quarters and with walls that a ball can bounce off of.

There also will be a 30,000-square-foot indoor training facility with space for both more tennis courts and removable turf for other sports. A 7,400-square-foot indoor tennis center also will house a fitness and rehabilitation area, a restaurant and café, salt room, cryotherapy, pro shop and a kid’s club.

The tennis center is among several large sports-related county projects of late. AdventHealth Center Ice, an ice and sports complex in Wesley Chapel, opened two years ago and in the beginning stages is the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.

The new tennis center will be equipped to host events such as United States Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation tournaments in addition to providing a place for area residents to play.

“This is really going to change Zephyrhills and help Zephyrhills to be put on the map,” Collard added. “We just launched the web site (last week) and already we’ve sold 15 memberships.”

Collard also noted that inquiries have not only come from the surrounding area and Wesley Chapel, but from other locales in the Tampa Bay area.

“We knew this from the beginning,” he said. “We have international players that want to come here.”