Melanie Riley
MOUNT Gambier Tennis Club has applied to the City of Mount Gambier for funding for much-needed upgrades to the current facilities at the club.
The proposal submitted to council included plans to completely upgrade seven courts at the club to Tennis Australia standards, including lighting to four courts, a club room upgrade to the change rooms/toilets and technology additions to include the installation of the Tennis Australia ‘Book a Court’ system.
The proposed project’s total cost estimate is between $800,000 – $910,000 and the City of Mount Gambier received the request for financial support of $50,000 to support the facility upgrades.
At a recent council meeting, the decision was made that the council would provide $20,000 of funding towards the project.
President of the Mount Gambier Tennis Club Jamie Clarke said the club is planning to apply for further funding through the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing’s (ORSR) programs in the coming months, and the council funding would be conditional, subject to the result of that application.
“We applied for some council funding through their program and we were successful in obtaining $20,000 towards the upgrades, but that is a commitment based on the fact that we get the [ORSR] grant, so if we don’t get the grant, we’re not taking the money,” Mr Clarke said.
“Every dollar is going to make a difference for us, it is conditional, and we made that a part of our application that it would always be conditional on the fact that we would get the grant funding.”
Due to the extensive work and cost of the proposed project, Mr Clarke said the club needs all of the support they can get.
“Everything we’re doing is based on getting the grant,” he said.
“We don’t have the funds to spend money on other parts of the upgrade and without grant funding, this is going to hurt us.
“We’ve got four condemned and badly neglected courts sitting in front of the club that have been left derelict for 10 years.”
The club are in the process of obtaining quotes for works they wish to complete to prepare for their application to the ORSR in the coming months.
“We’ve got multiple plans for what we want to do, but the funding will ultimately decide what the end result will look like for us,” Mr Clarke said.
“We’re working with Tennis SA and our local state and federal reps too to help secure additional funding, and they’ll be required to bring the project to fruition,” he said.
“We do thank Mayor Martin and the councillors for all of their support.”
