By Brendan Rees
It was game, set, and match for Tooradin Tennis Club after scoring a brand-new tennis pavilion.
City of Casey Mayor Cr Sam Aziz was joined by Cr Geoff Ablett in the celebratory opening of the $880,000 project with members of the Tooradin Tennis Club on Monday 9 October.
Located at Tooradin Recreation Reserve, the pavilion has undercover decking overlooking the club’s tennis courts, expansive community space and an office, a large kitchen and new cooking equipment, internal and external storage space and rear car parking and access ramp.
Cr Aziz said council was proud to deliver the new facility which he was confident would be well utilised by residents particularly as we moved into the warmer months.
“This fine building will provide the Tooradin Tennis Club and its devoted members with the facilities and amenities the club deserves while further developing their passion and drive for all things tennis,” he said.
He said the new facility was “fantastic” and would “greatly assist” in helping the club to grow and attract new local members and sponsors throughout the municipality.
“The benefits associated with participating in sport and physical activities are clear. We know that active residents have stronger social connections, enhanced physical and mental health, greater personal resilience and opportunities for expression of community pride.
“The City of Casey will continue to invest in the development of infrastructure to enable our communities to participate in physical activity as close to home as possible, to ensure they can reap the benefits of facilities such as the Tooradin Tennis Pavilion.”
Council invested $830,000 in the project and the State Government contributed $50,000.
Cr Aziz thanked the contribution of the State Government towards the project. “This project is the result of hard work and engagement, and demonstrates what is possible when council, the State Government and local clubs form meaningful partnerships to deliver great outcomes for the community.”
Tooradin Tennis Club president Dragan Jovic said the pavilion would ensure the club had the facilities to operate at “our optimum capacity.”
“The club will still have the five standard sized synthetic grass courts that it currently uses and it will also now operate out of our new facility to cater for young children who will then become seniors – safeguarding the survival of the club in the long-term,” he said.
“To ensure we can maximise the benefits of our new pavilion the committee will analyse all aspects of the club’s operations and ensure that it will be operating as effectively as possible.”
“We are a proud tennis club and with this new pavilion thanks to City of Casey we can give back to our members and our community a level of amenities that’s high end, modern and sets a new standard for tennis clubs.“Mr Jovic said the club had no paid employees and were relying on volunteers “more than ever.”
“Their involvement is crucial in sourcing funds, quotes and also for physical labour to keep the all our expenses and running costs as low as possible.”
