MOUNT Gambier City Council will consider supporting a $1.2m overhaul of the deteriorating Olympic Park tennis facilities in a move to see a rebound in player participation and major tournaments.
The Tennis Australia proposal – tabled for discussion at a key council high-level committee meeting last night – outlines the redevelopment of the courts, new acrylic playing surface, fencing and lighting, as well as construction of a “tennis pavilion”.
The fresh proposal comes five years after the high-profile Blue Lake Women’s International was dumped due to the poor condition of the facilities.
This event – which lured rising tennis players from across the globe – was the only annual international fixture in the Blue Lake city.
It is understood the tennis sector has been pushing for a major redevelopment at Olympic Park stemming back 13 years.
Mount Gambier and District Tennis Association president Matthew Charlton urged council to support the redevelopment to “reinvigorate” the sport and the ageing facilities.
Not only did the sport need to boost participation, he said there was an opportunity to lure “lucrative” junior tournaments to the Blue Lake city.
“This could potentially boost tourism,” Mr Matthew said.
“With junior tournaments, the whole family comes and they may decide to stay on for a few days in Mount Gambier.”
Although there were no guarantees, he said the philosophy “build it and they will come” was something to strive towards.
“We have been working hard with Tennis Australia on the proposal,” Mr Charlton said.
He revealed the courts had been deteriorating for some time and the facilities were not up to scratch given the cracks on the surface.
According to the Tennis Australia report tabled last night, the sporting body is requesting a $400,000 contribution from council to cement the major project and restore the courts to a safe standard.
“This venue could once again potentially host significant tournaments,” the report said.
“Urgent action is needed to restore the playing surface to safe standards to meet community and regular tennis playing expectations.”
Under the plan, six new tennis courts will be created along with the installation of new LED lighting technology to facilitate night games and tournaments.
“The significance and scale of the works has activated the requirement for professional and special design and project management services to be engaged,” the report said.
In a report, council governance and property manager Michael McCarthy said Tennis SA and Tennis Australia had again approached council to present a development proposal for Olympic Park.
He said this followed the peak tennis bodies calling for a major review in 2016.
“Unlike other proposals for new/additional facilities, this proposal intends to upgrade an existing aged facility that will otherwise at some stage needed to be addressed by the community,” Mr McCarthy said.
The proposal includes basing some tennis clubs at Olympic Park as a home ground to promote participation and re-attract intra/interstate tournaments.
Proponents are also requesting council commits to one-third of the cost with the remainder flowing from government grant funding and tennis bodies.
