Investment sees top class tennis courts open in Stoke-on-Trent
This summer promises to give tennis fans access to some of the best tennis courts around, with over a quarter of a million pounds of investment from the LTA Tennis Foundation across six stunning parks in Stoke-on-Trent.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is encouraging as many people as possible to take up the sport and is offering free sessions for the school holidays.
Last year, it was announced that public tennis courts in six parks across Stoke-on-Trent were to benefit from a major investment programme to serve up significant improvements to facilities across the nation.
In total, four courts have been renovated in Hanley Park; three courts in both Bucknall Park and Queen’s Park, Longton; and two courts each in Burslem Park; Mount Pleasant Park, Fenton; and Tunstall Park.
(Images: Official opening at Hanley Park with the Lord Mayor, councillor Lyn Sharpe, council and leader Jane Ashworth and pupils from St Mark’s Primary School and other image: Pupils from St Mark’s Primary School have a tennis lesson from We Do Tennis.)
Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This investment is the biggest of its kind in our park courts in at least a generation. As an avid low league tennis player in my spare time I can’t wait to get playing on the courts. We now have fantastic new facilities that will be managed and invested in for years to come and hopefully will inspire young people in our city to take up the sport and get active.
“There are even plans for a Local Tennis League where players can communicate and organise matches individually, as well as coaching, school outreach, disability sessions, social tennis, and community outreach.”
The improvements come as part of the Park Tennis Project, a nationwide investment by the LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts and open the sport to many more people.
The £256,000 investment in the six parks across Stoke-on-Trent has seen replacement playing surfaces, the repainting of courts, new fencing and the installation of nets, new gates and booking systems to increase participation.
Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said: “We are delighted to be working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active. This investment is part of the LTA’s Parks Tennis Project and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come. We will also be working closely with the council to ensure that the local community have a range of accessible opportunities to get on court and open up our sport to many more people.”
There will now be a range of free activities on the courts throughout the year, including Barclays Free Park Tennis sessions, with the council partnering with We Do Tennis C.I.C. to manage the day-to-day logistics moving forward.
Alongside the fresher facilities, a new, easy-to-use booking system will be in place for each of the parks helping to guarantee availability, so residents can pay in advance to book their court times. The booking fee will enable We Do Tennis to maintain the courts and ensure they are attractive, utilised and sustainable for the future, with deep cleans and re-paints being scheduled.
Nigel Hunter, Director at We Do Tennis said: “We Do Tennis’ is a not-for-profit organisation focused on improving, growing, and securing the future of tennis at all levels. It is fantastic to be involved helping activate tennis in Stoke-on-Trent, we are extremely passionate about getting more people playing the sport in the area.”
Tennis courts across the city can be booked at www.lta.org.uk/play/book-a-tennis-court.
