$9.8m upgrade to Adelaide’s Memorial Drive tennis centre a catalyst to attract more events
Memorial Drive Tennis club has voted in overwhelming favour for a long-overdue $9.8m upgrade to South Australia’s No.1 tennis centre
MEMORIAL Drive’s planned $9.8m upgrade has been given the all clear after members of the Memorial Drive Tennis Club voted in overwhelming favour of the project.
The vote was the final hurdle before works could be booked in to start later this year.
It also means that once the 12-month project is completed – it is expected to be ready for the 2019 World Tennis Challenge – the vision of a multi-purpose arena in the riverside precinct is one step closer. The vote means the three major players – Memorial Drive Tennis Club, Next Generation and Tennis SA – will be able to work more closely to attract major tennis events such as Davis Cup, Fed Cup and pro events to the venue.
“It brings the three entities together,” Tennis SA chief executive Steve Baldas said.
“It’s about getting more people to play, more often, right on the city fringe.
“It’s an important project because it defines how the club and tennis is going forward and how it can take people along for the ride.
The proposed Memorial Drive redevelopment will transform Adelaide’s sporting precinct whilst preserving the heritage and legacy of this great site for years to come.’’
The project is funded by a $10m grant from the Federal Government.
The stage one development – stage two is the vision of a covered multi-sport arena – means:
A NEW outdoor show court and two new match courts will meet standards for more professional events,
ALL three Grand Slam surfaces — clay, grass and hardcourt — will be made available for the national training academy,
A WALK of champions will be established to celebrate South Australian tennis greats,
A FIVE-court clay court centre with a pavilion will be built on the corner of Montefiore Rd and Memorial Drive, where there are now six hardcourts. The number of grass courts will be reduced from 15 to 13 while the hard courts will go from eight to 11.
Meanwhile, former Tennis SA chairman Bill Cossey has died after a battle with melanoma. A private funeral will be held on Friday and a public ceremony is being planned.
Cossey stepped down from his role with Tennis SA in 2015 after a decade as president and 19 years as a board member.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to government and the community in 2004.