Reworked plan for a 16-court Albany tennis centre at Centennial Park sporting precinct to go to council vote

The City of Albany’s reworked vision for a 16-court tennis centre is expected to cost about $4.8 million — less than a quarter of the cost of the initial proposal for a bigger regional tennis centre.

Plans to build a new centre at Collingwood Park were scrapped in March, when a feasibility study found the project was expected to come with a $21m price tag.

Since then, a working group consisting of Tennis West, the Lower Great Southern Tennis Association and local club representatives have worked to find a suitable home for a smaller centre.

The Advertiser revealed last month the group had come to a unanimous decision to build the centre near the eastern pavilion of the Centennial Park sports precinct.

The centre would feature 16 floodlit gel hard courts, as well as an office to help run events and tournaments.

In a report published ahead of the September 22 council meeting, City officers recommended that councillors endorse plans for a “large community tennis centre” at the Centennial Park sporting precinct.

“The (feasibility) study clearly justifies the need for and provides evidence that the existing facilities are inadequate and will not meet the future demands of the population,” the report said.

“The proposal has been scaled to meet the needs of the community clubs, position itself as the regional tennis facility and still deliver opportunities to host tournaments and competitions of significance.

“The new proposal is a significant reduction in scale, scope and investment to the proposed development and concepts at Collingwood Park.”

Councillors were also encouraged to authorise chief executive Andrew Sharpe to start seeking external funding for the project.

If approved, $100,000 from the City’s 2020-21 budget would be put towards the centre.

The report said if councillors did not support the new plan, the project could be abandoned.