Tennis festival to mark park courts reopening
ATENNIS festival is set to take place across six of Newcastle’s parks this weekend to celebrate the reopening of the city’s park tennis courts.
A £183,000 investment from the Parks Tennis Project has seen 22 park tennis courts upgraded including resurfacing, court repainting, new fencing, nets and posts.
Courts at Gosforth Central Park opened to the public on Monday, April 29, with others set to follow this week and those at Leazes Park set to open later on in May.
To celebrate the completion of the work, free tennis sessions will be available to book in Armstrong Park, Elswick Park, Exhibition Park, Gosforth Central Park, Nuns Moor Park and Paddy Freeman’s Park across the bank holiday weekend.
The festival has been organised by Urban Green Newcastle, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and community interest company We Do Tennis, who have been appointed to deliver a new city-wide programme.
Jim Mawdsley, principal adviser for events and culture at Newcastle City Council said: “Tennis is a sport which is growing in popularity, but all too often many courts in local parks have been vandalised or are in a serious state of disrepair, which is why I am delighted at this major refurbishment programme of courts across parks in Newcastle.
“You don’t have to be the next Emma Raducanu or Andy Murray to take part, but wouldn’t it be great if the next tennis stars of the future could say they started playing the game in the city’s parks. The tennis tournament is a great opportunity for people to come along, try out the new courts for free and learn how to access them in the future.”
Going forward, the tennis courts at Elswick Park and Nuns Moor will remain free to use. There will be a booking fee for other parks, which Urban Green say will be reinvested back into the courts and “will help ensure the long-term future of the tennis courts.”
The Parks Tennis Project is part of the LTA’s “biggest ever investment in parks tennis facilities” across the UK, which is aimed at providing opportunities for children and adults to get active.
Julie Porter, chief operating officer at the LTA, said: “After months of hard work, we’re
delighted to see park tennis courts across Newcastle upon Tyne officially back open to the public, and in better shape than ever.
“Public tennis courts are such vital facilities for getting active and we want as many people as possible, of all ages and abilities, to pick up a racket and enjoy playing tennis. Thanks to this investment the sport will be opened up to more players, for years to come.”
The Tennis Festival across Newcastle’s parks takes place from 10am6.30pm on Saturday, May 4, 10am5pm on Sunday, May 5, and 10am-3.30pm on Monday, May 6.
To book a free tennis session, visit www.wdtvenues.co.uk/newcastleupon-tyne-parks.