THAT WAS A STRONG SIGNAL sent to Greater Rome the other day regarding the need to get its proposed Tennis Center of Georgia accomplished whether the state of Georgia is willing to provide some financial assistance or not.

Speaking in Rome, Neal Morgan, the managing partner of the consortium building the super-sized LakePoint sports community/new city in neighboring Bartow County, went out of his way to act like a good neighbor.

His project already includes about every major sports/recreational component known to the American lifestyle, excepting only chess, football ... and tennis.

“We do not have a major tennis facility,” Morgan pointed out, “and that is on purpose, and it is out of respect for the (proposed) Rome tennis center and Mr. (Gordon) Smith.” (Smith, a native Roman, is executive director of the United States Tennis Association and a big pusher for the hometown project.) “We’re here to add enterprise,” Morgan added, “not to shift enterprise or to take enterprise away.”

Unless, of course, Floyd County can’t get it done in which case LakePoint is certain not to let opportunity pass it by. And, in the process, take all of Greater Rome’s existing regional/state tournament business away.

This community needs to stop waiting for the state to volunteer to be its doubles partner and concentrate on winning the singles championship.