Floodlighting your park tennis courts
Park tennis courts are important community assets, helping people of all ages and abilities stay active, improve their wellbeing, and connect with others. However, limited daylight hours, particularly between October and March, restrict court availability during peak demand times.
Installing floodlights can significantly extend playing hours, making better use of existing facilities while increasing participation and creating a more sustainable operating model for operators.
Key benefits of floodlighting:
- Extends court availability into the evening
- Increases tennis participation and attracts new players
- Generates additional booking revenue
- Supports the growth of coaching programmes
- Improves community health and wellbeing
- Maximises the use of existing public assets
- Helps create more financially sustainable facilities and stronger returns on investment
On this page you will find information and links to supporting documents, to help you discover if floodlights are a suitable and viable facility improvement for your parks, and support you on every step of the process to through to installation.
On this page you will find information and links to supporting documents, to help you discover if floodlights are a suitable and viable facility improvement for your parks, and support you on every step of the process to through to installation.
One of the most immediate benefits of floodlighting is the ability to increase the number of court bookings taken each day. Floodlighting allows for over 1000 additional hours per year per court, with many of these hours being at peak times.
This additional court time can contribute to increased booking revenue, higher utilisation rates, a better return on investment from existing facilities, and an opportunity to reinvest the income back into tennis facilities.
As more local authorities move towards sustainable management models for park tennis venues, floodlighting can play an important role in helping facilities generate income to support their ongoing maintenance and operation.
The table below shows the differences between the number of court hours available and the income potential between floodlit vs non-lit courts.
| Park | IMD | Population Density (higher number = denser) | No. of Floodlit courts | No. of unlit courts | Increase in court bookings per court | Increase in Income per court | % booking increase on Floodlit courts | % income increase on Floodlit courts |
| Park B | 2 | 226 | 2 | 6 | 325 | £1,105 | 33% | 57% |
| Park A | 3 | 976 | 4 | 4 | 141 | £719 | 59% | 65% |
| Park G | 4 | 1288 | 5 | 5 | 589 | £1,945 | 58% | 55% |
| Park I | 4 | 1694 | 2 | 2 | 370 | £1,528 | 74% | 64% |
| Park F | 5 | 2220 | 4 | 2 | 169 | £156 | 132% | 41% |
| Park C | 6 | 3391 | 5 | 3 | 382 | £5,411 | 18% | 19% |
| Park L | 7 | 3933 | 4 | 2 | 200 | £995 | 13% | 61% |
| Park K | 8 | 2677 | 3 | 3 | 676 | £1,175 | 60% | 44% |
| Park E | 9 | 2550 | 5 | 2 | 574 | £924 | 39% | 20% |
| Park H | 9 | 3640 | 4 | 4 | 458 | £553 | 60% | 33% |
| Park J | 9 | 1242 | 2 | 4 | 621 | £342 | 36% | 64% |
| Bookings and Income shown for previous 12 month period | Average change | 53% | 48% | |||||
Floodlighting can also create significantly enhanced commercial opportunities for tennis coaching providers operating within parks.
Many coaching programmes currently face challenges during the autumn and winter months due to reduced daylight. By installing floodlights, coaching providers are able to deliver sessions consistently throughout the year, making your parks a more viable business opportunity for them.
This also benefits the Local Authority, who may wish to increase the agreed rental charges for coaching operators who are now able to deliver an expanded range of sessions - a floodlit venue is often significantly more attractive to coaches seeking to establish sustainable, year-round businesses.
Floodlighting improves the playing experience and creates greater access to tennis for local communities.
Many people face competing demands on their time, including work, education, childcare and caring responsibilities. Evening access can be the only realistic opportunity for some residents to participate in regular physical activity.
Floodlights help players by:
- Increasing accessibility.
- Supporting year-round participation - reducing seasonal drops in participation.
- Helping players continue developing their skills and confidence.
- Creating More Playing Opportunities - more opportunities for families and friends to play together.
- Improving the Player Experience.
Ultimately, floodlighting helps ensure that facilities are available when people most want to use them.
Investment in floodlighting can contribute to a range of wider local authority priorities beyond simply increasing tennis participation.
Improving physical health
Regular physical activity is associated with improved cardiovascular health, strength, mobility and overall fitness.
By increasing access to tennis throughout the year, floodlights can help:
- Encourage more residents to become active.
- Support inactive individuals to participate regularly.
- Help people maintain healthy lifestyles.
Supporting mental wellbeing
Participation in sport and physical activity can help improve mental wellbeing and reduce social isolation.
Floodlit facilities enable continued participation throughout the winter months, increased social interaction, stronger community connections and positive wellbeing outcomes
Supporting health and prevention agendas
Increasing physical activity levels contributes to wider public health objectives by encouraging preventative health behaviours.
Over time, greater participation in sport and physical activity can contribute towards:
- Reduced physical inactivity.
- Improved population health outcomes.
- Support for local public health strategies.
- Reduced pressure on health and social care services.
Floodlighting can also generate a number of additional benefits for local communities.
Greater community engagement
A busier sports facility often becomes a stronger community hub, creating opportunities for:
- Social tennis sessions.
- Community events.
- School partnerships.
- Club development activities.
Increased equality of access
Many people are unable to access activities during traditional daytime hours.
Evening availability helps remove barriers for:
- Working adults.
- Young people in education.
- Parents and carers.
- Shift workers.
Supporting young people
Floodlit courts can provide safe, structured recreational opportunities during evenings, helping young people remain engaged in positive, healthy activities.
Encouraging sustainable travel
Local park tennis facilities allow residents to access sport close to home, often by walking or cycling rather than travelling longer distances to indoor sports facilities.
Futureproofing facilities
As demand for community sport continues to grow, floodlighting helps facilities remain relevant, attractive and adaptable to changing user needs.
Every site is different, and local authorities will wish to consider factors such as:
- Planning requirements
- Proximity to neighbours and residential properties
- Lighting design and spill control
- Energy efficiency
- Ongoing operating costs
- Maintenance requirements
Modern LED floodlighting systems can provide high-quality illumination while reducing energy consumption and minimising light spill when designed appropriately.
The LTA can provide guidance, case studies and practical support to help local authorities and park operators explore the most suitable options for their sites.
Across Britain, numerous park tennis venues have already demonstrated how floodlighting can increase participation, support coaching programmes and improve financial sustainability.
LTA case studies provide real-world examples of:
- Increased court usage.
- Growth in coaching participation.
- Additional income generation.
- Funding opportunities and methods.
- Positive community impact.
- Successful partnerships between local authorities, operators and coaching providers.
Take the next step
The first action for any Local Authority or Park Operator to take if you are considering the installation of floodlights is to contact your local LTA Delivery Manager.