Manchester City Council and the LTA have today announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish public park tennis courts in Manchester.
In total, 9 park tennis venues will be renovated, with investment of £483,095 helping ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community.
The project is part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, and open up the sport to many more people. This investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country through renovation works, and improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems.
Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, delivering significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits to participants. Accessible facilities in parks are particularly critical to opening up the sport to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls.
Manchester City Council will invest £324,145, with investment of £158,950 from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation.
Alongside the investment, Manchester City Council , Manchester Active and We Do Tennis will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly organised free park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with or their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly, sociable, opportunities to get active through local competition.
The park venues being renovated are: Blackley Recreation Ground, Chorlton Park, Cringle Park, David Lewis Recreation Ground (Boggart Hole), Debdale Park, Fog Lane Park, Kingswood Park, Ladybarn Park and Platt Fields Park. Other sites across the city will also be available to book online via the LTA website https://www.lta.org.uk/play/
All courts and sessions at all sites will be available to book online via the LTA website https://www.lta.org.uk/play/
Work on sites is anticipated to start in June and be completed by August.
Councillor John Hacking, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure, said:
“This partnership coincides with the news that Manchester will be welcoming the famous Davis Cup this September after winning a bid to host the competition earlier this year.
“It’s great that Manchester City Council and the LTA are going to refurbish and upgrade tennis venues in and around the city. I hope that with the Davis cup and refurbished tennis courts, local communities and residents of all ages are encouraged to get involved with tennis and enjoy being active.
