New indoor tennis centre opens in Dumfries & Galloway

Delivered through the Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis (TSIT) fund, the new three-court facility provides a year-round home for tennis for schools, clubs and players in the many nearby rural communities. It will be an inclusive, accessible and affordable facility providing more opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to play tennis.

Dumfries and Galloway already have a strong tennis network with 11 registered clubs and total membership approaching 1000. The new centre, which will be operated by Queen of the South Community Trust, creates an excellent opportunity to grow participation, giving clubs and players the chance to play year-round and removing the weather as a barrier to playing time. Plans are also in place to use the centre to introduce more young people to the sport by working with Dumfries and Galloway Active Schools.

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In recent months, local coaches have been undertaking qualifications with Tennis Scotland. This will improve the coaching capacity for clubs in the area, as well as provide coaches to deliver a range of sessions every week at the new centre.

This project is another important landmark in the ongoing work to improve year-round access to tennis across the country. It will be the third indoor tennis centre built in Scotland recently. Centres in Edinburgh and Elgin have opened since the end of 2023, meaning the TSIT fund has now helped build 13 indoor courts in that time.

Nearly £1.7 million of funding from the TSIT fund, operated by the LTA, LTA Tennis Foundation, sportscotland and Tennis Scotland, has helped make the plans a reality. That amount includes a £211,347 loan to Dumfries and Galloway Council. Alongside the loan, the council has provided nearly £500,000, with the total cost of the project set to be £2,361,937.

A challenging financial climate and increased costs in the construction industry caused a rise in the total cost of the facility from original projections. However, the organisations involved put in a concerted effort to secure additional funding to ensure the project went ahead. Holywood Trust, a local charity which helps young people in the area, are making a significant contribution of £200,000.

TSIT is designed to support innovative and creative projects to meet local demand and fill the geographical gaps in indoor tennis provision that currently exist across Scotland. At £15 million, TSIT is the largest capital investment programme in the sport’s history in Scotland and the aim is to create more and better opportunities to play tennis all year round.

The four-court £1.63m centre in Elgin, operated by Moray Sports Centre, and the £4.5m six-court Oriam Indoor Tennis Centre in Edinburgh are both seeing high numbers of players since opening.

Scott Lloyd, CEO of the LTA said: “The opening of this new indoor tennis centre in Dumfries and Galloway is another important step forward in our vision to see tennis opened up and making it more accessible to communities across Scotland.

“Through the Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis fund, facilities like this one in Dumfries provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the physical, mental and social benefits of playing tennis year-round, whatever the weather.”

Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland, said:  “This is an exciting day for everyone involved in tennis in Dumfries & Galloway and we’re delighted this much-needed and much-anticipated new centre has opened to the public.

“Indoor courts are vital to growing the game in Scotland and helping us achieve our aim of making tennis a truly accessible, inclusive and year-round sport.

“The TSIT partners have now opened three indoor tennis centres in just over two years, and I want to thank everyone who has delivered these community projects and contributed to this success story.”

Chief Executive of sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop, said: “This is a significant milestone for Tennis in Scotland. The centre will be hugely important for local tennis and the communities in Dumfries and Galloway.

“We appreciate that times are challenging financially across the sport sector and for many of our local partners. The centre would not have been built without the full commitment of all the partners to deliver it; they have all shown a drive to help improve tennis opportunities in the area.

“This is the third tennis centre in two years to open with significant investment from the TSIT fund, our commitment improving year-round access to tennis in Scotland is clear.

“During what are very challenging times financially, I must commend the commitment of our partners to delivering this project and I look forward to seeing the impact it will have.”

Councillor Tracey Little, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee said: “Our council is delighted that the facility has been completed before the end of the year. An indoor tennis facility is something that local clubs and communities have strived towards for decades, so to be able to deliver this state-of-the-art facility is a huge asset for the town of Dumfries and the region as a whole. I hope the testing and community groups enjoy the facility and I look forward to a visit at the official opening.”

Councillor George Jamieson, Vice-Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee commented: “The new tennis centre is exactly the type of facility our council should be investing in. It will be used by the local tennis community, will bring people into the region to spend money and is being run by one of our community sports club partners in Queen of the South FC. The centre will also be hosting regular school sessions, so we will see some legacy thanks to its creation too.”

Karen Ward Boyd, Director of The Holywood Trust: “We are excited that the new regional indoor tennis facility is complete and ready to open its doors. With the addition of a Tennis Development Officer post, we look forward to seeing a broad range of users of all ages and abilities, particularly children and young people."