---
title: "Sam Hitman on Gates Tennis Center | CourtSide | TopSpin Digital"
url: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/sam-hitman
description: "Sam Hitman on 30 years managing Gates Tennis Center in Denver: public-private partnerships, quiet pickleball courts, and running three facilities."
lang: en-US
---

All episodes (https://topspindigital.co/courtside)EP 03

# Sam Hitman, Gates Tennis Center

General Manager

June 16, 2026

Sam Hitman has been managing Gates Tennis Center since 1993. In 30+ years he's turned a public facility into the host of the country's largest sanctioned tennis tournament, launched two more facilities across Colorado, and built a scholarship program for kids who can't afford lessons. We get into the public-private partnership with The Park People, running three facilities at once, the real economics of public tennis, how he added quiet pickleball courts, and why he started teaching other people how to run facilities.

## Key Takeaways

- How the public-private partnership with The Park People works, and what a $4.7M reconstruction looks like when the city owns the land.
- Running three facilities at the same time across different markets in Colorado.
- The real economics of public vs. private tennis facility pricing.
- How Gates added quiet pickleball courts, the paddles he tested, the investment, and a league that sold out in three days.
- Tennis & Pickleball for Kids: how the scholarship committee decides who gets in.

## More episodes

Episode 0

May 13, 2026

### Evan Dechtman, TopSpin Digital

Founder

A short introduction to CourtSide: why we are building a long-form interview series for the people running racquet sports, what each episode looks like, and how to be considered as a guest.
https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/introducing-courtside

Episode 1

May 15, 2026

### Andy Zodin, Columbine Country Club

Director of Racquet Sports

Andy Zodin on 15 years running racquet sports at Columbine Country Club, what a director actually does day-to-day, the ownership conversations that never go away, staffing teaching pros in 2026, and how private clubs are handling pickleball.
https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/andy-zodin

Episode 2

May 22, 2026

### Julius Gavin, Tennis University

Independent Tennis Coach, Founder

Julius Gavin, known online as tennis.god, has nearly 90,000 Instagram followers, charges $1,000 for six hours of coaching, and claims he can build a complete tennis game in 40 hours. We get into the math behind the program, the fraud accusations, the real economics of driving thousands of miles with a trunk full of balls, and how short-form content converts a viewer into a paid client.
https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/julius-gavin

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