New Indoor Tennis Centre at Stafford

Article by Jackie Thorley

Work will start in December on an £800,000 indoor community tennis centre in Stafford – the final phase of a 10-year development project. The centre, at Stafford Sports College in Rising Brook, is expected to open next September, although the three indoor acrylic courts could be up and running in the summer.

The scheme is being jointly funded by the school and the Lawn Tennis Association, with part of the money coming from the sale of a piece of college land to the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. The job recently went out to tender and the successful company will be announced on Friday, with work scheduled to start the first week in December.

The building will be the showpiece of a 10-year project costing £1.25m, creating one of the largest community sport facilities in Staffordshire. Martyn Rock, director of specialism at Stafford Sports College, said: "It all began in 2000 when we took a party of children on a tennis tour to Cornwall. We looked at the facilities they had there and that really started the ball rolling and, two years later, we put in a bid for some outdoor courts at our own school." Six floodlit outdoor courts were built at a cost of £250,000 and have been used by pupils and players of all ages and abilities. "It then seemed natural to see if we could get money for some indoor courts, although that looked unlikely until the fire service said they wanted to buy a piece of our land. That gave us the money we needed to get started," added Rock.

Other sports will benefit, with the college also converting land next to the outdoor tennis courts into a multi-use games area. The indoor centre will be used by college students, local schools and community groups, as well as being offered for hire on a pay-and-play basis. Plans are also underway to host the Staffordshire Closed Championships at the new venue.

Staffordshire tennis development manager, Keith Carder, said: "This will be brilliant for the county as a whole. It's a massive scheme and I think it will be of huge benefit to the community – from kids learning to play the game, right up to the top strata of performance players."