Southampton secures $675,000 grant for Hampton West Park tennis courts

Southampton Town landed a $675,000 state grant for Hampton West Park, the maximum award available through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Environmental Protection Fund. For tennis players, that matters because the money is tied directly to new courts, equipment, and better access at a public park that has to serve residents who are not buying their way into private-club tennis.

The grant is a matching award, not full project funding. Town officials said it can cover up to 50 percent of eligible project costs on a reimbursement basis, which means Southampton still has to assemble the rest of the financing and map out the work before players see any change on the ground. The practical upside is clear: Hampton West Park now has the kind of state backing that can move a park project out of the wish-list stage and toward construction.

That public-access push fits the way Southampton has been talking about its recreation system. The town said summer 2026 registration opens May 5 at 8:30 a.m., and its recreation software lets residents sign up online, book facilities, explore activities, and get event information in one place. In a town where court time is always at a premium, those are not small details. They are the difference between a park that feels locked up and one that feels usable.

Red Creek Park in Hampton Bays shows the model Southampton has already been building. The town describes the 45-acre site as an active-recreation facility with three new tennis courts, eight new pickleball courts, walking and cross-country trails connected to The Paumanok Trail, an indoor activity center, and other amenities that keep the park busy beyond just one sport. Southampton also said in April 2024 that Red Creek would demolish six existing tennis courts and replace them with three new tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and new fencing. Parks and Recreation Department Director Kristen Doulos said, “The existing asphalt courts are 30 years old.”

That is the precedent Hampton West Park now points toward. The grant gives Southampton the financing base for a real court upgrade, but the town still has to turn the award into a project schedule before Southampton residents, families, and public-court players know when they will actually be able to get on court.