The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has launched a massive investment programme to boost grassroots tennis in the UK.
The LTA has committed to investing £125 million to improve community tennis facilities across the country, and plans to unlock a further £125m through match funding from community networks with a shared vision for growing the game.
Called Transforming British Tennis Together, the £250m transformation of Britain’s tennis courts comes at a time of huge momentum in elite British tennis and unprecedented levels of interest and pride in the sport, which together have inspired many more people to pick up a racket.
This could be a great opportunity for QPTC. Concerned members and potential partners should read the new LTA funding guidelines here. Here is a key section in the funding guidelines:
“The Growing the Game fund is for single venues who want to help more people from their local community to play tennis. It is primarily focused on refurbishing courts and installing floodlights, however we will fund refurbishment of clubhouses/social spaces for the right projects […] We will still expect venues to meet the criteria of; financial sustainability, online booking & easy entry to courts and regular reporting to help you make a success of your new investment.”
The Guardian, 28 June:
“The LTA is about to launch the largest grassroots investment in the history of British tennis: £250m will be used to address some of the most obvious barriers to playing tennis in this county by increasing the number of covered and floodlit community courts by 50% – while also installing an online booking system so that public courts can be reserved easily. The LTA has committed £125m to the scheme, called Transforming British Tennis Together, and promised to release a further £125m in conjunction with local councils and community networks. Over the next decade the LTA aims to generate 750 newly covered courts, 4,000 more floodlit courts and 3,000 online court entry systems across the country.”
