Add Category
Tennis Queensland has warned the state's south-east is suffering from a court shortage and says hundreds more are needed to overcome the deficit.
Key points:
- Tennis Queensland wants a ratio of one court for every 2,000 people across the state
- The state's governing body for tennis says that will require hundreds more courts to be built
- The state government says it wants increased public access to school tennis courts
The organisation has been pushing for a ratio of one court for every 2,000 people in Queensland for some time and says the south-east is still falling short of that goal.
In an interview on ABC Radio Brisbane, Tennis Queensland chief executive Kim Kachel said Brisbane had experienced a loss of courts as privately owned land grew in value and was sold off.
"It's a great problem to have, but it's a terrible problem at the same time that we just can't keep up with the demand," Mr Kachel said.
"We are absolutely at capacity at so many of the clubs across Brisbane and south-east Queensland. You actually can't book a court at peak times.
"It's something we really do need to address."
"We're a long way off the ideal level, and there's pockets of Queensland where the population growth is significant and there's very few tennis courts servicing that population growth," Mr Kachel said.
"We're working with governments and councils at all levels and trying to address this chronic undersupply of courts."
More money for more courts
The state government said its sport department since 2015 had spent $13.6 million on tennis, including $7.3 million on tennis-related capital projects such as courts and clubhouses.
Sports Minister Michael Healy said the government wanted to boost opportunities for Queenslanders to play tennis and provide more pathways for talented players.
"Our Tennis in State Schools Initiative (TISSI) is building and upgrading tennis facilities in schools in a collaborative agreement between Tennis Queensland and the Department of Education with a budget of $2.2 million," he said.
Schools that commit to opening their tennis facilities for community use outside school hours are prioritised during applications for TISSI funding.
The government has also committed $100 million over the next four years for new and upgraded school sports infrastructure and equipment.
Mr Healy said the government wanted to make those school tennis courts available for community use.
Council wants public access
Within Brisbane, the council operates more than 90 public tennis courts that can be used by residents.
Brisbane City Council Community, Arts, and Nighttime Economy Committee chair Vicki Howard said it would be happy to discuss ways with Tennis Queensland to make more courts available.
"There's a large number of courts at state schools throughout Brisbane which unfortunately aren't available to residents," she said.
"These courts, along with other state school sports facilities like football fields, have been paid for by residents.
"So it makes sense that they're made available for residents to use, particularly given Brisbane is the fastest growing capital city in Australia."
A Department of Sport spokesperson says it "proactively engages with the Department of Education to make sports facilities at school more available for community use".
Get local news, stories, community events, recipes and more each fortnight.