freshare.net
Tennis legend Billie Jean King will participate in a special naming ceremony of the new Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex during the half-time ceremonies of the 7:05 p.m., Saturday, July 19, Springfield Lasers match.
A news conference with King is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., in the new meeting room area of the Cooper Tennis Complex (Lasers VIP food area) that evening, prior to the match.
King is the co-founder of the unique gender-balanced World TeamTennis league. She was named “one of the 100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life Magazine in 1990. King won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis titles, including a record 20 titles at the Wimbledon event in England. She also is the author of Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and Battle of the Sexes, which will be released next month.
Tickets for the match are still available for $20, box seats; $10 general admission grand stand, by calling (417) 837-5800 to order. The Cooper Tennis Complex is located at 2331 E. Pythian St. The Saturday match vs. the St. Louis Aces is one of the last two before the end of the Lasers season. A commemorative sling back bag will be given away to the first 900 fans entering the gate that evening as part of “Mediacom Night at the Lasers.”
Mediacom acquired the naming rights to the stadium in May, as part of a 10-year agreement for naming rights to both the Mediacom Ice Park at Jordan Valley Park and the Mediacom Stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex.
Speakers during the half-time ceremony will include Billie Jean King; Larry Peterson, Mediacom Vice President of Region Operations; Cooper Family representative; Parks Director Jodie Adams; Park Board Chair Bob Horton; and Lasers staff liaison Bob Belote.
The 2,500-seat stadium at Cooper Tennis Complex was built in 1994. Named as the 2006 USTA Missouri Valley Section “Facility of the Year” and Tennis Industry’s Champions of Tennis 2002 “Municipal Facility of the Year”, the stadium is the centerpiece of the Complex. The state-of-the-art Complex also features 12 indoor and 16 outdoor lighted courts, along with meeting room, full concession capabilities. In 2002, the facility hosted the Fed Cup games against Israel.