Arafura Games wheelchair tennis forced off centre court because of slope

WHEELCHAIR tennis will be relegated to the outside courts at the Arafura Games because the wonky centre court at Darwin’s $18 million International Tennis Centre is yet to be fixed.

The multimillion-dollar Darwin International Tennis Centre at Marrara opened in October with the main court that has a extreme slope to the playing surface.

WHEELCHAIR tennis will be relegated to the outside courts at the Arafura Games because the wonky centre court at Darwin’s $18 million International Tennis Centre is yet to be fixed.

Tennis NT and project manager AECOM have now confirmed work to fix the sloping show court now won’t begin until at least October, despite previous assurances it would be fixed in time for the Games.

Para athletes from across the country and overseas will compete in the ITP Futures tennis event as part of the Arafura Games.

But the undercover stadium court will be off-limits for wheelchair tennis as the sloping surface has been deemed unsafe for competition.

Games organisers said the open-teams tennis competition — to be held from April 29 to May 2 — would still use the main show court.

TOP STORIES

• PRISONER ‘crying out for help’ before death, inquest hears

• VANDALS cause $80,000 damage to Bowling Club

• JESSICA Mauboy as you’ve never heard or seen her

• NT BEVERAGES: Failed NT Government investment sold

• FATAL crash pilots lacked wet season experience: Safety Bureau

But wheelchair athletes will be relegated to the outside courts.

The NT Government gave Tennis NT $16.7 million to build the new tennis centre, but the organisation was left red-faced after the NT News last year revealed the centre court has been built on a slope that was twice the acceptable level for professional competition.

More than five months after those revelations, the court is still to be fixed.

Tennis NT chief executive Sam Gibson said work to repair the centre court would now not begin until October.

He said events — including Pro Tour and ITF Futures tournaments — were scheduled at the tennis centre until late September, meaning repair work could not start until they were finished.

“We were given assurances from the project manager (AECOM) that they were going to get it done in time for the Arafura Games but unfortunately that hasn’t come to fruition,” he said.

International tournaments scheduled this Dry won’t be able to use the show court, but it will still be used for local competitions.

Mr Gibson said he did not know how much it would cost to fix the sloping centre court and both Tennis NT and AECOM refused to directly answer questions about who would pay for the repair.

Asked if the matter could be headed for court, Mr Gibson said: “I hope not. We have been given assurances it will be fixed.”

IN OTHER NEWS

In a statement, AECOM said: “Along with Tennis NT we are fully committed to rectifying the issues with the gradient on the centre court.

“We expect those works to commence at a time that causes the least amount of disruption to the upcoming schedule of events.

“We understand that the main show court will not be used for the Arafura Games, however all other courts are available.”

The cost to fix the court has previously been estimated at $500,000, although some sources told the NT News it could be significantly higher.

Sports Minister Lauren Moss said the NT Government would not be providing any extra funding to fix the court.