Woods Park is busy with spring sports, but some neighbors are not happy with plans in the works for the south side. Vernon Forbes lives right across the street from the pool. He says, "There is very little open space on the south side of the park. The neighbors down here, all we see are athletic facilities, but there is one little area of open space that we would like to keep."

Folks at the Woods Tennis Center would like to expand their courts into the open area. Its part of a master plan they would like to see approved by the city council. The tennis courts were in the park's 1992 master plan. Now the city is working on a new one and the courts are still in it. Managing director of Woods Tennis Center Jason Eden says the new courts are needed to provide a central location for local high schools to host their matches and invitational, as well as a location for larger tournaments that require more courts than they currently have. Those tournaments include the Cornhusker State Games, the Lincoln Open and Class B Girls and Boys tennis. Right now competitors have to move between different locations.

President of the Witherbee Neighborhood Association Fred Freytag says, "Its not that we, as people living around here, are against sports of any kind. Its just that it doesn't have to happen all at one spot and inundate the neighbors with traffic, noise, and pollution."

Forbes continues. "I think that if you have a park, its environmental impact on its immediate neighbors should be positive."

Even if the council approves the plan, the tennis courts won't be built for quite awhile, meaning several more years of open space. If you would like to voice your opinion on the future plans for Woods Park, the city council will hearing public input during their meeting Monday night at 5:30PM before voting on the issue.