Netball NSW has welcomed today’s announcement by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres that will see a major upgrade carried out on the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre and a new roof installed on the Ken Rosewall Arena.
The project will create an all-weather high-performance environment for both tennis and netball, with an upgraded canopy roof structure to be placed over the Arena and Show Court 1.
It means Netball NSW’s two professional franchises, the NSW Swifts and GIANTS Netball, will have a new permanent home venue to play Suncorp Super Netball games at from 2020.
Netball NSW CEO Carolyn Campbell was delighted by the announcement and said that by providing access to a purpose-built facility, netball would continue to see strong growth.
“Netball is one of the top sports in NSW when it comes to participation, and is the market leader for women and young girls,” she said.
“Sydney requires a fit-for-purpose indoor venue to accommodate our professional franchises, the NSW Swifts and GIANTS Netball.
“I think today’s announcement is a wonderful development which will provide us with a much more cost-effective venue, with priority scheduling, that also
allows us to raise the number of people who will be able to see our game at the elite level live and up close.
“I would like to thank the Premier, the Minister for Sport, Tennis NSW, the Office of Sport and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority for their efforts and cooperation in helping make today’s announcement happen.”
Premier Berejiklian said upgrading the Centre would create another international level sporting facility in Sydney and continue to increase grassroots sport participation.
“This upgrade will provide better facilities for netball and tennis athletes, and provide opportunities for both sports to meet growing demand for more content,” she said.
“Netball and Tennis are market leaders in growth and participation and the NSW Government is committed to continuing to support these sports.”
Minister Ayres echoed these sentiments.
“Investing in renewing our sporting infrastructure allows NSW to attract a wide range of events, keeping Sydney the number one when it comes to events,” he said.
“NSW netball teams continue to dominate national competition while Tennis NSW athletes flourish both nationally and internationally. Both of these sports have proven they mean business and aspire to be our nation’s best.”
The project will be undertaken by Tennis NSW with funding and oversight from the state government, under an agreement that will ensure netball and other sports have access to the facility once the upgrade is complete.
Work on the Tennis Centre upgrade is expected to commence in early 2019 and the first stage will be complete in November 2019.
Major upgrades include the following:
• The construction of canopy roof structure over Ken Rosewall Arena and Show Court.
• Upgrades to player and media facilities.
• Additional lighting, seating and public amenities.
• A new sprung floor to allow for multi-sport use.
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