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WORCESTER — The historic Worcester Tennis Club has put its Sever Street property up for sale, although the club has promised its members that the 2014 season will open as scheduled.

The property at 69 Sever St. is listed for sale at $750,000. Consisting of just over one acre, the property has seven red clay tennis courts and a clubhouse. There are no parking spaces on the site, nor are there any lights for night play.

Timothy E. Gray, the club’s treasurer and immediate past president, said the club has about 100 households and about 150 individual members. The Sever St. site, while steeped in nostaglia and history, “may have outlived its usefulness,” he said.

“If we can find a property that is more conducive to the long-term health of the club, we will do that,” he said. The red clay courts are in excellent shape and loved by the club’s members. But the lack of on-site parking is a limiting factor, as is the lack of lights, which forces an end to play when it gets dark.

Mr. Gray said the club and its members are committed to finding a new location, and that plans are to structure any sale so that the club can play out the 2014 season at its Sever Street home.

James Umphrey, principal at the commercial real estate firm Kelleher Sadowsky Associates Inc., is one of two listing agents for the property. He is also a former longtime member, and one-time president, of the Worcester Tennis Club.

He said several interested buyers have made offers on the property, but none has been accepted by the club.

Opened in 1880, the club moved to its Sever Street location in 1907, according to its website. It is one of the oldest tennis clubs in the United States. It has a tennis instructor, Robert Greene, who was the U.S. Professional Tennis Association’s National Professional of the Year in 2009. Mr. Greene is returning to the club for the 2014 season, as the club’s general manager and resident tennis pro.

The club has run into financial problems in recent years, and its membership has dwindled.

Mr. Umphrey said the buyers who have placed offers want to convert the club into a residential development.

“It will be developed into something beyond a tennis club,” Mr. Umphrey said.

On the club’s website is a full calendar of events for the 2014 season, including opening day on April 19, US Tennis Association tournaments for adults and youth in June; the Worcester County Open singles and doubles tournament, in August; and a closing day of Sept. 29. However, sometimes the season stretches to Oct. 15 if the weather allows, Mr. Gray said.

Mr. Gray said the Worcester Tennis Club will seek to remain within the city of Worcester “if at all possible.”

Aaron Nicodemus can be reached at anicodemus@telegram.com

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