Baseline Sports Construction, LLC began surfacing tennis courts in 1982 as Empire Recreational Surfaces, and grew into a full service athletic and recreational construction company providing a wide-range of services such as tennis and pickleball court construction, running track construction, indoor sports facility construction, and natural and synthetic turf field construction and maintenance.
Baseline serves the southeast and is a licensed contractor in the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, and West Virginia. Our services have grown to include consulting on recreational facility construction outside our geographic area as well as full service construction and maintenance throughout the Southeast. We are a long-standing member of the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA).
John W. Ferguson (Will)
President, Will developed the recreational division of Empire Corporation beginning in 1982 and then bought that portion of the business in 2000 changing the name to Baseline Sports Construction, LLC. As President, his responsibilities include oversight of accounting, information technology, human resources, contract management, and all other areas of operations as well as involvement with sales and production of projects. Will graduated with a BA degree in political science from The University of the South in 1980. Will is a past Chairman of the Board for the ASBA.
David Clapp
Vice President / Sales & Production Manager, graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee with a Degree in Engineering Physics. After working in the aerospace engineering field, David has been with Empire Recreational Surfaces / Baseline Sports Construction since 1990. David has been designated by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) as a Certified Tennis Court Builder and a Certified Track Builder, and he also edits the ASBA’s “Tennis Court Construction Manual”. He is also a past Chairman of the Board for ASBA. David is a licensed general contractor in several states and holds a commercial driver’s license. David and his wife Kelly have 2 daughters and a son.
Steve Clift
Vice President/ Sales & Production Manager, graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1995 with a BS degree in Business Management. Steve has been associated with Competition Athletic Construction, LLC as its managing partner since 2003 where his duties included management of day to day operations, project/facility design consultation, sales, estimation and project management. He joined the Baseline team through Baseline’s acquisition/merger of the 2 firms in 2015. Steve lives in Chattanooga, TN with his wife Heather and 4 children, Jarrett, Corey, Brady and Amelia Drew. His territory covers SC, GA, AL and MS.
Kent Harrison
Office Manager, has been with Baseline since 2003. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Maryville College with a degree in Economics, with later graduate work at Emmanuel School of Religion and Southern Baptist Seminary. Kent has over 25 years of experience in both the corporate (including construction, administration, and consulting) and non-profit (including parachurch and church ministry) areas. Kent and his wife Sandra Elizabeth have 3 daughters and a son.
Daniel Benner
Project Manager, is a Knoxville native who began with Baseline in 2013. Daniel puts his energy into in sales, estimating and job production with a focus on relationships and integrity. He holds a commercial driver’s license, is a TDEC certified EPSC inspector, and is trained to test synthetic turf fields for safety. Daniel has been designated by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) as a Certified Field Builder - Synthetic. Daniel has degrees in Business Management and Human Resource Management from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Daniel and wife Laura have a son, Dylan.
les johnston
Controller, came to Baseline in 2016 after 10 years of service to Empire Construction and Dominion Management Group as their Controller. Les enjoys bringing order to systems including banking, taxation, insurance, human resources and financial reporting. Les lives in Knoxville and has a daughter and granddaughter who light up his life!
Gayla Lemons
Project Coordinator, came to Baseline in 2017. She has over two decades of experience working with international and local nonprofits including the Billy Graham Association, the Luis Palau Association, the United Way, Feeding God’s Children, and others. Her roles have been as varied as executive assistant, volunteer coordinator, church relations director, event planning, and post-event follow-up. At Baseline, she offers Sales and Accounting support to the team in her role of Project Coordinator.
chad smallen
Project Manager, came to Baseline Sports Construction in 2018. He brought with him 8 years of experience as a roadway construction manager for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. He was also a small business owner for 10 years specializing in remodeling. As a Project Manager for Baseline, Chad oversees renovation and new construction of tracks, tennis courts, and both natural and synthetic fields. He lives in Ooltewah, TN with his wife, Kristi, and their 2 children, Natalie and Brock.
faye Branch
Accounts Payable Specialist, came to Baseline in 2019. She has a background in accounting and office management. Her attention to detail and her willingness to communicate with vendors and subcontractors adds another layer of support for the field team. Faye lives in Knoxville with her husband, Robert. Their grown children are also in the area.
Tyler Garrett
Project Manager, came to Baseline Sports Construction in 2021. Tyler is a jobsite superintendent and oversees renovation and new construction of tracks, tennis courts, and both natural and synthetic fields.
Sean Young
Project Manager and synthetic turf specialist, Sean came to Baseline in 2021 with 12 years experience in turf installation, maintenance and testing. Sean has a degree in Criminology and Forensic Science from the University of Tennessee, where he played offensive line for the Vols. He resides in Louisville, TN, with Morgan, and their two daughters Josie and Mavryck.
