Photo: Michael Chisholm / Tennis Canada
Program set for biggest year since inception with six projects confirmed for 2024
The Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers is set for its most impactful year since its inception in 2022 with six municipalities selected to receive a total of $1.2 million in funding to develop covered tennis courts in 2024, Tennis Canada announced on Tuesday.
Spread across three provinces, projects in the municipalities of Niagara, Mississauga, St Catharines and Chatham-Kent, Ontario as well as Ile-Bizard, Quebec were confirmed for 2024. An additional location in British Columbia, representing the first project in Canada’s western-most province, will be announced in the coming weeks. Each of these projects will be provided $200,000 in seed money, bringing Tennis Canada and Rogers’ investment in the program to $1.2 million this year alone and the total number of completed and ongoing projects to 14.
In its third year, the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program has already made a substantial impact across the country. Completed projects in Markham and Hamilton, Ontario, Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, as well as Waterloo, Quebec have delivered 26 new covered courts, providing 4.1 million Canadians access to year-round tennis. Each club saw its winter court bookings and membership enrollment increase dramatically for the new indoor seasons, thanks to the collective additional 2,695 hours of court time per week that were made available to their communities. Further projects in Thunder Bay, Stratford and Toronto, Ontario are also currently under construction as part of the program.
The projects at Niagara Falls Racquet Centre (Niagara, ON), Premier Racquet Club – Mississauga (Mississauga, ON), West Island Tennis Club (Ile-Bizard, QC), and in St Catharines and Chatham-Kent, Ontario, will see a collective 22 year-round tennis courts added to their communities, accessible to 1.16 million Canadians and accounting for a total of 2,200 additional court hours per week during the winter months. By the end of 2024, the total number of year-round tennis courts created by the program will reach over 60 – more than 35% of the program’s goal of 160.
“It’s tremendous to see this program continue to flourish as we work towards our goal of making tennis more accessible to Canadians across the country,” said Gavin Ziv, Chief Executive Officer, Tennis Canada. “This year, our portfolio has increased from four to six facilities, as we continue to prioritize the construction of more year-round tennis courts through the acceleration of our capacity building efforts. As always, we’d like to thank our tremendous partner Rogers for the seed money they provide and their incredible support on this program and congratulate the municipalities and club operating partners that have received funding. We cannot wait to see their projects come to life in these communities. Momentum for this program just keeps growing, and we encourage other municipalities, clubs and players to get in touch to see how they can get a project started in their area.”
“We’re pleased to partner with Tennis Canada to help grow the game of tennis across Canada,” said Terrie Tweddle, Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Rogers. “Through these new year-round courts, we’re helping to make tennis more accessible to more Canadians.”
The projects announced today are scheduled for completion in time for the 2024-25 fall and winter seasons. That is except for Niagara Falls Racquet Centre, where their bubble is already close to completion and a grand opening is scheduled for Thursday, February 8. Soil-turning ceremonies will be held at each of the other project clubs over the coming weeks.
As momentum for the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers continues to grow, with 90% of Canadians agreeing that municipalities should work with Tennis Canada on the initiative, you can learn more about the program and email coveredcourts@tenniscanada.com to find out how you can help kick start a project in your municipality.
MORE ON THE ROGERS TENNIS DOME AT NIAGARA FALLS RACQUET CENTRE
Municipality: Niagara Falls, Ontario
Year-round courts created by project: 4
Canadians served by project: 95,000
Additional court hours per week created by project: 400
“Players want to play! Thanks to Tennis Canada and Tennis Clubs of Canada, players have access to more courts all-year-round at the Niagara Falls Raquet Centre,” said Jim Diodati, Mayor of Niagara Falls. “This innovative, three-season dome will see Tennis Clubs of Canada operate the covered space with rentals and programming, and each year the whole dome will come down to reveal the open-air courts for the spring and summer. More courts, for more seasons means more players! We can’t wait to get our racquets going in here!”
MORE ON PREMIER RACQUET CLUB – MISSISSAUGA
Municipality: Mississauga, Ontario
Year-round courts created by project: 4
Canadians served by project: 805,000
Additional court hours per week created by project: 400
“We are really excited to have been selected for funding via the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program,” said Karl Hale, CEO of Premier Racquet Club – Mississauga. “Thank you to Rogers and Tennis Canada for their support. We cannot wait to see this project come to life and to bring year-round tennis to the Mississauga community.”
MORE ON ST CATHARINES, ONTARIO
Municipality: St Catharines, Ontario
Year-round courts created by project: 4
Canadians served by project: 137,000
Additional court hours per week created by project: 400
“We are thrilled to be working with Tennis Canada to bring this new indoor tennis dome to our community. This project symbolizes our commitment to fostering active lifestyles and providing accessible recreational opportunities for residents year-round,” says St. Catharines Director of Community Recreation and Culture Services Phil Cristi. “The hope is that this new state-of-the-art facility will enrich the experience for St. Catharines tennis players and also serve as a hub for community engagement, bringing people together through the shared love of sport and wellness.”
MORE ON CHATHAM-KENT, ONTARIO
Municipality: Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Year-round courts created by project: 4
Canadians served by project: 102,000
Additional court hours per week created by project: 400
“We’re thrilled to have been awarded the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program grant provided by Tennis Canada and Rogers,” said Darrin Canniff, Mayor of Chatham-Kent. “This funding helps bring a tennis dome to our growing community and will provide another great venue for Chatham-Kent residents to have fun, learn new skills, and live more healthy and active lifestyles.”
MORE ON WEST ISLAND TENNIS CLUB
Municipality: Ile-Bizard, Quebec
Year-round courts created by project: 6
Canadians served by project: 20,000
Additional court hours per week created by project: 600
