10 hours ago | Kelly SmithPlease click here to view the Concept Site Masterplan
The National Sports Club at Southwell Park was officially opened on September 12, 1970 by Sir John Overall.
The $200,000 National Tennis and Squash Centre, the current headquarters of Tennis ACT (TACT), was a joint project between the tennis and squash associations, originally boasting 12 granite tennis courts, six grass courts, six squash courts, a licensed bar, change rooms and administration offices.
The club has a rich history; playing host to squash legend Heather McKay, and tennis greats such as Roy Emerson, Neale Fraser, Adrian Quist, John Newcombe, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl. More recently, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic and Mary Pierce have competed at the venue.
Over the years the club has expanded to meet the needs of the enthusiastic tennis-playing community. It currently has 25 tennis courts, eight squash courts, three indoor cricket courts and a licensed clubhouse with 18 poker machines.
The local tennis programs delivered from the facility have also produced players who have gone on to international success, including Wally Masur and Alun Jones.
The National Sports Club, through tennis, has been providing many benefits to the local community and economy over the past 40 years, these have included:
??Active recreation and unstructured play ? public access casual hire
??Grassroots community based participation programs ? Tennis in Schools and MLC Tennis Hot??? Shots
??Club competitions ? social tennis, club championships, etc.
??Domestic competitions ? pennant and Turbo Tennis finals
??Domestic tournaments ? Junior Development Series and Resident Championships
??Interstate tournaments ? AMT, OJT and Tennis NSW Junior Development Series
??Tennis Seniors events and competitions
??International tournaments ? Pro Tour, ITF Junior and Senior events
??Athlete development ? ACT National Academy, Tennis NSW South Eastern Regional Academy? and TACT Talent
Development programs
??Inclusion programs for the indigenous and disabled
Currently, TACT has players and coaches from the surrounding region participating or coaching at the centre and it will continue to provide an important development pathway for community programs, athlete development and coaching for the surrounding region.
These regional and national programs will have the capacity to further expand with the proposed new infrastructure.
While TACT continues to offer such programs, its facilities are in a state of disrepair. The centre?s poor state played a part in the centre losing the right to host the Canberra Women?s Classic, an international tennis tournament in January, and is hampering efforts to offer world-class practice facilities for the whole community.
The facilities are in such a state of disrepair that the building will soon be unsafe. The major issues include:
??Multiple roof leaks
??Rotting floor boards and ceiling panels
??Structural integrity of the indoor cricket viewing mezzanine and first floors
??Ongoing plumbing and electrical faults ? constant power outages due to circuit overloads
??Inadequate heating and cooling ? Boiler can no longer be serviced
??Ongoing challenges in keeping the fire and safety equipment in compliance
??Squash courts leak through the vandalised exhaust fans
The $20 million redevelopment, a joint project by Tennis ACT, Tennis Australia, Next Generation Clubs of Australia and the ACT Government, will build a high quality modern leisure facility to benefit the whole community.
The facilities are proposed to include:
??12 hard court tennis courts (8 outdoor, 4 indoor)
??8 sand-filled artificial grass tennis courts
??12 clay tennis courts
??Tennis amenities, including:
??????? ? Clubroom
??????? ? Change rooms
??????? ? Coach offices
??????? ? Tournament office
??Outdoor pool and garden/barbecue area
??Modern gymnasium
??25m indoor pool and children?s pool
??Spa, steam rooms and sauna
??6 squash courts
??Licensed bar and cafe/restaurant and ancillary lounge areas
??Children?s games area and soft play area
??Cr?che
??Premium members wet area
??Small meeting room
??High quality change rooms
??Specialty ancillary retail goods and services
??General administration offices, storeroom and circulation space, including office space for TACT
The redevelopment will also facilitate a change in business model, which will remove TACT?s reliance on a licensed club to remain sustainable. The model would also remove poker machines from the facility, helping to alleviate problem gambling issues in the local community.
The proposed new centre will remain within the Lyneham Sports Precinct, and thus complements the ACT Government?s vision for the delivery of sports facilities in the Territory.
While there are two distinct aspects to the development, the tennis facilities (Block 12) and the leisure centre (Block 10), a holistic approach will be taken to the project to create economies wherever possible.
This course will see a coordinated development application for deconcessionalisation of Block 10 and 12, with two additional development applications for lease variations and construction on both blocks. The required lease variation on Block 10 is an estimated 10 per cent increase in the allowed gross floor area to accommodate the squash courts and
TACT administration offices.
Block 12 requires a number of variations: an adjustment to the maximum number of courts permitted, that parking will be serviced by Block 10 and the surrounding common parking provided by the Lyneham infrastructure project and deconcessionalisation to allow security over access rights for NGCA.
TACT, Tennis Australia and NGCA will form the lead for the project through a Project Control Group. TACT will appoint a project manager to consult with specialist architects in the design and construction of the tennis facilities. NGCA will appoint a project manager to coordinate a team of architects and builders for the design and construction of the leisure facility. Both project managers will consult on the interaction between the facilities and coordinate their design teams to ensure cohesive and effective design. Preliminary work has been undertaken on a master plan to ensure this approach is coordinated and as effective as possible.
Competitive construction tendering will be undertaken, again exploring economies through consolidation of the capital works program. The potential redevelopment of the AIS tennis facilities will also be a key consideration as it also presents an opportunity for economies of scale.
Construction is likely to be advanced on the tennis facilities as tennis courts are in high demand and these facilities will be able to function independently for a short time.
The construction and operating costs of the leisure facility will be NGCA?s responsibility and TACT will be accountable for the construction and operating costs of the tennis facility. The leisure facility will provide the necessary infrastructure to support the hosting of major tennis events, while the commercial arrangement for the sublease will ensure TACT and the community tennis facilities are sustainable in the long term.
The sublease arrangements with NGCA will require the deconcessionalisation of Block 10 and 12. It is hoped that the community will recognise the benefits of this deconcessionalisation in what Tennis ACT hope will be a relatively uncomplicated process given that there is no change of use, no modifications to the Territory Plan or any inconsistencies with the originally intended use of the concessional leases.
Sport is an essential part of the social fabric of local communities. Recent studies have shown that the social interaction provided by structured and unstructured community-based sport has a positive impact on social cohesion and mental wellbeing. Providing multi-sport opportunities at community venues also increases job creation and job pathways.
Tennis is a sport for life, with participants ranging in age from three to 93 years old. It has gender equity, as it is played equally by men and women and it provides many health benefits, including improving cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance.
Tennis is also a key economic driver in the community with the estimated economic benefit from events delivered through the redeveloped facility valued at a minimum of $2.3 million annually.
The significant capital works program will provide an estimated $20 million injection into the local building industry and create the equivalent of 100 full-time jobs ? at a time when the industry is slowing down.
The new business model will create an additional 60 FTE jobs at the centre, as the expanded operations will require an increase in local staffing.
It will also be an economic driver for the region, unrivalled, as the quality of the venue will surpass anything in the area. It will also be utilised as a training and competition venue for the NSW South Eastern region, as well as complimenting the facilities at the AIS to service national elite athlete programs.
The redevelopment has been aligned to the specifications recommended in the ?Tennis 2020, facility development and management framework for Australian tennis? and is part of Tennis Australia?s Regional Tennis Centre program.
Improvements to the infrastructure will allow for these services to expand beyond the region and there will be a focus on establishing international training camps to service Asia.
This international expansion will foster greater athlete development through foreign competition, while also providing a greater economic benefit to the region. The high-quality facilities and services provided by the NGCA leisure facility will complement this approach and provide for complete athlete development services. These packaged services will also be promoted to recreational players, expanding the market for these types of programs.
The NGCA facilities will provide a significant upgrade of the leisure facilities currently offered and provide for a more family friendly environment. The family oriented club will offer unrivalled facilities and services in the region, and will promote healthy leisure activities for the entire family. This high quality service business model will also attract additional economic benefit through the creation of additional jobs and attract interstate and international visitor spend.
The facility has significant community support for its redevelopment and over the past 12 years has had various proposals for its development, all of which have received strong community support. There is an increased focus on the delivery of community tennis services and programs with the redeveloped facility and it is expected that this approach will strengthen the existing community support.
The ACT Government announced significant funding towards the redevelopment of the facility in 2008, highlighting the need for the facility to be upgraded to a more modern standard and the Tennis ACT business model to be strengthened through such a redevelopment. As conceptual planning and business modelling has progressed, the ACT Government has supported TACT?s partnership with NGCA and has targeted funds towards the tennis-focused redevelopment of Block 12.
All major stakeholders have been consulted and have confirmed their support. These include: ACT Government, Sport and Recreation Services, Squash ACT, Tennis Australia, Tennis ACT and all of its affiliates, including community tennis clubs. Support has also been received from neighbouring businesses and residents, including Hockey ACT, residents of the neighbouring Sanctuary residential development, Yowani Golf Course and the ACT Netball Centre.
Broader public consultation will begin shortly as part of the established lease variation and development application process.
Source: http://www.tennis.com.au/act/news/2012/08/17/national-sports-club-redevelopment-concept-masterplan
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