The construction of an all-weather Tennis Stadium, on 72 cents of land at Ajjarkadu here, is expected to be completed in about three months.
The stadium is being constructed at a cost of ₹ 3.75 crore. Of this ₹3.75 crore, ₹1 crore each has already been provided by the State government and MP’s Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund of Rajya Sabha member Oscar Fernandes. The remaining ₹ 2.5 crore has been sanctioned by the government, while ₹25 lakh was being raised through other sources.
Two synthetic tennis courts will be constructed within the stadium. It will also have an administrator’s room, two separate locker rooms for men and women, a trainer’s room, a first aid niche, a store room, an equipment room, and a warm-up room.
It will have separate toilet facility for men and women. It will also have parking facilities for 16 cars. The stadium will have galleries at its northern and southern sides with a seating capacity of 600 persons. There are outdoor tennis courts in places, including Brahmavar, Kundapur, Tenkanidiyur, and Udupi. But the district received rains for about six months in a year.
“This indoor tennis stadium will allow players to play throughout the year. We can hold national-level tennis tournaments because of the synthetic courts,” said Roshan Kumar Shetty, Assistant Director of Sports and Youth Empowerment.
Nirmiti Kendra is constructing the stadium. Though the construction began in June 2016, it got held up owing to a delay in release of some funds. “The funds are expected soon. Once the money is released, we will finish all the works by January-end,” said Arun Kumar, Project Director of the Kendra.
After the completion of construction of the stadium, the Department of Sports and Youth Empowerment intends to hire two coaches to hone the skills of young tennis players.
“The stadium will definitely help youngsters to learn tennis, and budding tennis players to polish their skills,” said Dev Anand, president, Udupi District Lawn Tennis Association.
Yet another advantage of this indoor stadium will be that indoor kabaddi and wrestling matches could be held in it by putting kabaddi and wrestling mats.
Published - November 09, 2017 01:17 am IST
