A tennis facility could be built in the upcounty in the next two years if a proposal from a sought-after tennis coach is approved.

Veteran instructor Jack Schore, who has coached seven top-100 professional tennis players, proposes a privately funded indoor/outdoor tennis center and clubhouse at the South Germantown Recreational Park with 12 courts and more than 10,000 square feet of space. If the public-private partnership is approved and permitting is smooth, the center could open by 2011, he said.

Schore's proposal is the second for a tennis center at the Boyds park, said Terry Brooks, division chief for the Montgomery County Department of Parks. In 2007, Washington, D.C., attorney Kevin Tighe terminated the 40-year lease he signed with the county in 2000. The agreement would have brought a $22 million tennis center and spa to the park.

The closest public tennis centers are the Wheaton Indoor Tennis facility and the Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center in Bethesda.

Residents are invited to a weigh in on Schore's proposal at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center, at 18000 Central Park Circle in Boyds, Brooks said. The proposal has to be approved by the county Planning Board before Schore and the county can discuss lease terms and construction permits, Brooks said.

"The upper Montgomery County is underserved and needs a tennis facility," said Schore of Virginia. "We'd be privileged to have a tennis facility at the sports plex. It's one of the greatest facilities in the United States."

Tentative blueprints for the tennis facility call for two four-court, air-conditioned air structures such as the tennis facility in Wheaton, and at least four outdoor tennis courts, Schore said. It also includes a clubhouse near a building that will house employee offices, he said. The facility, which would be located on five acres next to the aquatic center, could open in spring 2011, he said.

"It's not a question of if we're going to be able to move forward, it's just a question of when will we get everyone on the same page," Schore said.

The facility will be open to the public and may host high school, collegiate and possibly professional tennis tournaments, Brooks said.

The parks department "wanted a facility that charged public rates, not country club rates" for lessons, Brooks said. The purpose of the facility is to provide tennis lessons everyone can afford, Brooks said.

The Bethesda and Wheaton centers offer year-round tennis lessons from beginner through third intermediate adult, said Christine Brett, enterprise division chief for the parks department. Six weeks of lessons at the Bethesda center are $132 and $108 at the Wheaton tennis facility, she said.

"We'll be within those prices," Schore said. "We're not going to charge membership fees, just fees for lessons and court time."

The public is encouraged to attend the 7 p.m. meeting Nov. 30 at the South Germantown Indoor Swim Center at 18000 Central Park Circle in Boyds. Comments about the proposed tennis center should be sent to Terry Brooks, division chief for the county parks department, at terry.brooks@montgomeryparks.org. For more information, call Brooks at 301-650-5675.