Claremont Club closes after 47 years of history

Driving past the Claremont Club is a somber sight these days. A once thriving club now sits unoccupied with no members being welcomed in. Instead, signs cover the gates read "Save the Claremont Club." The facility closed its doors on August 1 due to substantial financial losses from COVID-19.

Staring at the locked gates that separate me from the tennis courts I grew up playing on, memories come flooding in. This was where I joined other top junior players for clinics and competed in team and national events. It's where my coaches watched me grow up. It's where my sister took lessons after I went to compete at Baylor University. The club offered so much both on the court and off it.

The 47-year-old club sits just off Interstate 210 in California's Inland Empire and takes up 19 acres of land. It boasts 29 tennis courts, multiple pools, a gym, a salon and a non-profit that helps patients living with cancer and paralysis.

The spirit of Claremont Club CEO Mike Alpert can be felt everywhere, well beyond the now-closed courts. The club offered free daycare for working moms and a program to help improve the quality of life for those suffering from paralysis, Parkinson's disease, stroke and traumatic brain injuries.

After five decades of history, the club was an extension of home and members aren't going to lose their extended family without a fight.

Director of junior development Darren Richer has developed some of the top junior players in Southern California and has worked at the club since 2002. He's leading a group dedicated to saving the club's legacy, a legacy that began with Tracy Austin and Bobby Riggs playing in an exhibition at the then two-court facility.

Claremont-based ophthalmologist Dr. Anil Shivaram helped kick start the initiative by purchasing the savetcc.com and saveclaremontclub.com domain names. Darren would then reach out to Frank Liu, another long-time member of the club, to help build and promote the websites.

The Richers decided to to make shirts, gather up their children and pose for photos outside the club. What started off as just a quick promotional photoshoot would turn into a rally with 300 people showing up to show their support. On August 2, the group would grab the attention of local news stations, holding up signs and sharing stories about what the club means to them.

Alpert managed to keep all 258 employees working until August despite the numerous closures enforced by the state. Unfortunately, the club could not sustain its continual losses, dropping 1,200 memberships during the shutdown.

Just last year, the facility was profitable with $14.9 million in gross revenue; the third highest in the nation for single clubs. No one could have forecasted that in 2020, Claremont's history would come to an end.

"It felt very abrupt in that there is no way to celebrate how well we did," Richer tells Baseline. "When someone retires we usually get the opportunity to say what a great job they have done. During this time, we didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye but we are just getting scattered  in so many different directions because of the necessity to feed our families."

Richer is afraid the tight-knit community that Alpert worked so hard to foster will fall apart. His group is rallying to preserve the club's legacy by creating a strong online presence and educating the community on how they can help. Petitions, surveys and general knowledge surrounding the club can be found at savetcc.com.

"You can't put a price tag on a club like ours and say it's too valuable of land, it's too valuable of real estate," Richer says. "I think we can really partner together and create something that is much larger than a green fuzzy ball, but that helps people for generations and generations to come."

The property will reportedly be sold through a broker to coordinate multiple offers. The club is zoned in a commercial recreation district and cannot be re-zoned without the city's approval. With petitions swamping the city and the fight to save the club continuing, the pressure will make it more difficult on investors.

From annual Christmas parties to team meetings to his daughter's junior matches, there are countless memories Richer has to hold onto from his two decades at the club. For now, Richer and a few other instructors from the club are teaching at Claremont High School to keep the elite group of players training together. The current situation is not a long-term fix, but is buying everyone additional time to figure out the future.

No matter what happens next, figures like Richer and Alpert will always carry an unwavering sense of community and keep the history of the Claremont Club alive, even if it's only in their memories.