A country club in the city is being restored to its former glory.
The Tucson Racquet Club, 4001 N. Country Club Road, has been taken over by the grandson of the original founder.
Joseph Tofel and associates originally built a tennis club near the old El Conquistador Hotel, now the site of El Con Mall, in the 1950s.
But when El Con was being developed, Tofel built a new facility β the Tucson Racquet Club β in 1967 and, over the years, hosted the University of Arizona tennis team along with professional matches, such as the American Airlines competition and Davis Cup events.
Now his beloved club is in the hands of his grandson, Jim Tofel, along with Jimβs wife, Allyson, and Jimβs cousin Lynn Tofel Dent and her husband, David Dent.
βIβm excited for this new venture weβre getting into,β Jim Tofel said. βFor us, itβs about trying to keep the original legacy alive.β
He said the club needs some freshening up.
Nonine Anderson, left, chats with her husband, Charles βcoach,β in the dining room at the Tucson Racquet Club. The club was recently bought by Jim Tofel and one of the plans is to upgrade the dining area.
βAbout half of the tennis courts are not in the condition for tennis tournaments and we want to bring them up to current standards,β said Tofel, a managing member of Tofel Dent Construction.
Membership is down about 25% since the pandemic and Tofel hopes to regain former customers and attract new ones.
Membership fees range from $50 to $200 a month.
Aside from tennis, activities include basketball, volleyball, swim lessons, exercise classes, child care, a salon and massages.
And the popular sport of pickleball has been added with more courts planned.
βThe club has something for everyone,β said Sandy McCaslin, its general manager. βSome members have been here since it opened.β
Aside from tennis, activities include basketball, volleyball, swim lessons, exercise classes, child care, a salon and massages at the Tucson Racquet Club, 4001 N. Country Club Road.
There are two restaurants and a bar at the club, and they are looking at once again hosting wedding and events at the 20-acre site.
The club will also add an internet cafΓ© workspace for members, McCaslin said.
βWeβre really looking to enhance the club,β she said. βIt really is a country club feel without the country club price.β
In the 1970s, the club was also a ranch with overnight guests.
The housing development to the south of the club was originally part of the ranch, Tofel said.
βBut some members felt like they were second-class citizens to the guests,β he said. That amenity was discontinued.
When Joseph Tofelβs second wife, Marian, died the club was passed to her sons.
There were rumors that the club would be turned into condominiums.
βThe message we want to get out is the club will remain a club, not become a housing development,β Jim Tofel said.
βI know he would be proud,β he said of his grandfather. βIt was both his and Marianβs dying wish that it would remain a club.β
Jim Tofel, the new owner of the Tucson Racquet Club, has plans to enhance the outdoor landscape and create a nicer ambiance at the club.
Learn more about the country club at tucsonracquetclub.com.
El Con building demolished
The former Levy's store at El Con Mall is being demolished in order to make way for a Walmart store. It's another twist in a long history of a prized piece of midtown property.
Customers wait for the doors to open for the first time at the Levy's store at El Con Mall on Sept. 15, 1969.
LeBron James, the Clooneys, and the Kardashians are all fans of pickleball. But what is it and why is it so popular?
