TENNIS
TURF CARE
£5m investment into the Birmingham- based tennis facility. Edgbaston Priory’s groundstaff
T
pride themselves on the quality of the courts as they ensure the world’s top players get the best preparation for Wimbledon fortnight. The man responsible for their upkeep is Stuart Smith. Smith presided over his seventh
AEGON Classic this summer where 16 hour days are the norm and the club becomes his home for the week. Now that grass court tennis is secured within the future plans for the club, his labour of love is set to continue. “During the tournament week, we
stay on site because the days start at six in the morning and finish at 10 at night,” he says. “Throughout the week all ground-
staff mow the courts, mark the lines and make sure we are here if the courts need covering for rain. They are long days but we are all very proud of the end result.”
he grass courts at Edgbaston Priory Club are also set to get a makeover as part of the LTA’s
The extension of the Edgbaston Priory
Club site was approved in March this year and will also include new squash, gym and leisure facilities, together with a major refurbishment of the clubhouse. As part of the proposals, the club
agreed terms to lease an additional four acres of adjacent land on which the new indoor tennis centre will be built. The redevelopment designs have been
created by Glenn Howells Architects and the work is due to commence this summer with the aim of completing the whole project by August 2013. Rob Bray, chief executive of the
Edgbaston Priory Club, said the redevel- opment was a huge step forward for the club. “We’re grateful to the LTA for this significant support and will work with British Tennis’ governing body (NGB) to develop a thriving tennis hub for events, community and performance,” he said. “We’re working extensively with our
partners and club members – whose cre- ative and innovative input to the project will continue to bring our vision for the club to fruition. When completed, these world-class facilities will establish the club as a leader in promoting racquet sport at all levels and secure the city’s reputation as a prominent international tournament venue for tennis.”
Spectators are given the chance to watch top tennis names close up
Community tennis While interest in tennis is more intense throughout the country during the
popular, televised summer tournaments, a major focus for the rest of the year at Edgbaston Priory is on community ten- nis. The AEGON Classic may draw the attention to the club for one week every summer but for racquets manager Leyla Ogan, tennis is a 52 week a year sport. Ogan runs the club’s extensive range
of coaching and community projects, with the coaching levels ranging from the club’s top 40 juniors on the national- level high performance programmes to the 800 adult members of the club. In addition, another 600 junior play-
ers also hit regularly at the club, many of which dream of progressing onto the adult tour to join the likes of world number one and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic or Sharapova. Ogan has been racquets manager at
the club for the past four years after spending the previous three in another coaching role at the club. She believes that, along with the proposed invest- ment in Edgbaston Priory, the club is well equipped to assist the next generation of players and provide the local Birmingham community with a facility to be proud of. “There is a really good atmosphere
around the place during the AEGON Clas- sic event – it’s a really unique place and a unique tournament – but it’s our job to make sure that tennis isn’t just about the AEGON Classic week or the Wimbledon fortnight,” she said. “To watch the top players playing or
44 Read Sports Management online
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Issue 3 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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