Wayne Jack didn't mention the cost of the world class project but it is believed there would not have been much change out of $15 million. Photo / Glenn Taylor
Wayne Jack didn't mention the cost of the world class project but it is believed there would not have been much change out of $15 million. Photo / Glenn Taylor
It's not quite a double fault ... but plans to build New Zealand's first clay court tennis complex in Napier have been put in the "delayed match" category.
Napier City Council chief executive Wayne Jack confirmed yesterday the complex, which had been promoted as a possibility as part of expansionplans at Park Island, had been put on hold.
"Based on information we have achieved the project isn't worth pursuing at this stage. It does not make economic sense as there is already an over supply of tennis courts in the city," Jack said.
While Jack didn't mention the cost of the world class project it is believed there would not have been much change out of $15 million. Plans involved a mix of indoor and outdoor courts plus a "No 1" court for high-profile matches with an up to 5000-spectator capacity.
Napier-based professional coach Simon Winter was disappointed the complex had been shelved but understood the council's feasibility study had been a thorough process. "I know the project can be reinvestigated in the future. It's not dead in the water," Winter said.
"Hopefully some of the other organisations involved will be a lot more enthusiastic in the future. At the right time this project will have some real legs and fly ahead," Winter added.
When promoting the complex in August Winter said it would help Hawke's Bay establish top Kiwi players as 80 per cent of the world's top players developed their skills on clay courts which can be used all-year round and were the best surface for player development.
Tennis Waikato Bays community development officer Paul Evans said he wasn't surprised the project had been shelved. "I could never see it working as Hawke's Bay's existing courts aren't being used to full capacity. We've just pulled out of using the courts at Onekawa which we only used for six months of the year."
