US Squash honored Arnie Dratt with the W. Stewart Brauns, Jr. Award, one of the organization’s highest honors, for his role in leading the development of Project Beacon–the nation’s first public outdoor squash court at Chicago’s Union Park–Wednesday, February 5, during the Windy City Open at the University Club of Chicago.
The W. Stewart Brauns, Jr. Award, awarded annually since the 1980s, is given by US Squash to a person who has made sustained administrative, off-the-court contributions to the game of squash.
Last May, the Project Beacon outdoor court opened during the PSA World Championships in Chicago. Dubbed “Project Beacon” due to the courts serving as a signal, a guide and celebration for the sport, the movement is a collaboration between the PSA Foundation and U.S. Squash Foundation, the fundraising arm of the sport’s national governing body US Squash.
US Squash CEO Mollie Marcoux Samaan presented Dratt with award on the glass court in the University Club’s Cathedral Hall.
“Arnie’s contributions throughout his life and career are truly inspiring and get right to the heart of US Squash’s mission to grow and develop the game by increasing access and awareness to this wonderful sport,” Marcoux Samaan said. “Perhaps his biggest contribution is his relentless vision and leadership for project beacon. In partnership with the Chicago Park District and Chicago Parks Foundation, Arnie made it his personal vision for more than five years to build the nation’s first publicly accessible outdoor squash court in Chicago’s Union Park. During that five year process, Arnie encountered countless obstacles and his persistence over the course of those five years was the central reason the court becoming a reality. He has been a leading voice for the development of outdoor courts, and his passion and dedication to this pursuit has been nothing short of remarkable. At US Squash we look forward to working with Arnie to build on this great work to provide more people the opportunity to discover and enjoy the sport.”
Dratt conducted a worldwide search for the ideal design for expanding the sport’s reach by making it visually appealing and accessible for all, which culminated with Amsterdam-based startup Access Courts. Following the success of Project Beacon, US Squash, the PSA Tour and Access Courts entered a landmark partnership to to provide affordable and accessible options for outdoor court construction in the U.S. and abroad.
The court’s rotating exterior art exhibits—first featuring work by Cecilia Bevan—blend sport and creativity while bringing squash into public spaces. Located in Fulton Market, west of the Chicago Loop, ‘Project Beacon’ is making squash more accessible to the local community in the build up to squash’s debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28).
“I felt like I was receiving the honor on behalf of so many people who contributed to the success of bringing Beacon to Union Park,” Dratt said. “Beacon in Chicago is first and foremost a project of the PSA Foundation, the PSA and US Squash to leave a legacy for the Windy City tournament which has been held in Chicago for many years. It became both a standalone project for the outdoor court in a Chicago park as well as a project that helped create an outdoor court that could meet US building codes almost everywhere around the world. Beacon has given a lift to all the Chicagoans who have worked to realize a dream, which is to open the game to people who don’t have access to clubs.”
