Wembley Downs Tennis Club upgrades complete

The Wembley Downs Tennis Club celebrated the official opening of four courts this past weekend after over $330,000 worth of court and lighting upgrades were completed.

Under the project – with $111,817 each from the Community Sporting and Recreations Facilities Fund (CSRFF), the City of Stirling and club funds – four grass courts were converted to hard courts and lighting was installed to lower the cost of maintenance and enable night play.

The CSRFF is a State Government fund that aims to increase physical activity and participation in sport and active recreation in Western Australia.

CSRFF priorities include projects that lead to facility sharing between clubs, or rationalisation of existing facilities to increase sustainability, as well as projects that will directly lead to an increase in physical activity or participation.

Tennis Australia also provided financial support of $50,000 to the club from their National Court Rebate program to reduce the club’s liability for the project.

Mayor Mark Irwin said the completion of the upgrades to the Wembley Downs Tennis Club was the culmination of a decade of work with the goal of increasing membership and catering for night play.

“Helping members of the community come together around sport and recreational facilities to remain active and healthy is one of the core shared objectives that bring together multiple levels of government and the clubs themselves,” he said.

“Whether it be to extend the time of play to enable a more sustainable membership base for clubs, or conversion to hard courts to enable a more sustainable use of water and lower maintenance costs, the City is proud to have partnered with the State Government and club to deliver this project.

“Supporting this project is another way the City enables participation in community sports and assists the sustainability and viability of clubs within the City of Stirling.”

Club president Janet Paterson said the project had been in the club’s strategic plan for 10 years.

“We are thrilled that with assistance from the City of Stirling and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC), the project has come to fruition,” she said.

“Having more hard courts with lighting will cater for the current and future trends of tennis and will enable the club to continue to offer a quality facility to its members and the local community.”

In October 2021, the Wembley Downs Tennis Club successfully nominated the City of Stirling for the Local Government Award at the 2021 WA Tennis Industry Awards.

In their citation, Tennis West said the City of Stirling had played a pivotal role steeped in sound advice, direction and support for the successful outcome of a sustainable and accessible tennis facilities for the benefit of both the club and the wider community.