From next week, playing tennis on Eaton Park’s hard courts will be better value for money as the ‘pay and play’ system is replaced with an annual membership one of just £30 a year.
At the park there are four all-weather flood-lit courts operated by Norwich Parks Tennis. The other three courts, currently managed by the council and charged at £6.10 for a full-paying adult per hour, will also be managed by Norwich Parks Tennis from Monday 31 October 2016.
Membership is. just £30 a year for your whole household. So, if you play just five times in a year, you’ll have made a saving.
Membership brings additional benefits too. Courts can be booked in advance online. The all-weather courts are floodlit until 10pm, 365 days a year. Membership also gets you entry in the Wimbledon ticket ballot and two weeks’ free coaching.
Councillor Roger Ryan, cabinet member for customer care and leisure said:
“Making sure the city has excellent sports facilities is a priority for the council as they play such an important role in people’s health and well-being.
The Norwich Parks Tennis programme, through its expert coaching programme offers a quality experience to members at exceptional value for money, which is so vital in making sure the sport is open and accessible to all people of all ages and abilities.”
Additional benefits to the council is increased revenue to spend on improving tennis provision within the city. Rather than the inconsistent ‘drip-fed’ monies collected through ‘pay to play’, which totalled less than £2,000 last year, the council will get a lump sum, which will be £10,000 in the first year. This will be reinvested in the facility.
More about Norwich Parks Tennis
Norwich Parks Tennis was set up in 2012 after the council made a successful bid to the Lawn Tennis Association and Sport England to construct the four new floodlit courts at Eaton Park.
Its primary aim is to deliver affordable and accessible tennis coaching to everyone in Norwich.
The council went through a separate process to award the operation of the tennis courts to a coaching organisation who would deliver what was needed and Norwich Parks Tennis was born.
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