For tennis lovers, it will be a fulfilment of their long-pending demand as the District Indoor Tennis Stadium under construction for nearly two years, is in the final stages and will be ready here by the end of this month.
Located near the District Stadium here, the District Indoor Tennis Stadium will have two synthetic tennis courts. Its total area is 14,600 square feet. It is 120 square feet long and 122 square feet wide. The tennis stadium has galleries on the northern and southern sides to accommodate about 600 persons.
It has two rooms for coaches, two locker rooms for men and women, an equipment room and a first aid niche. It will have toilet facilities for men and women. It also has parking provision for 20 cars and two-wheelers.
“At present, tar has been laid on the ground of the stadium. Only the laying of the synthetic mats and lighting work are remaining. This will take about a fortnight to complete. We plan to inaugurate the tennis stadium by the end of this month,” according to Assistant Director of Sports and Youth Empowerment Roshan Kumar Shetty. This will be the first indoor tennis stadium in the district. There are tennis courts in Brahmavar, Tenkanidiyur, Kundapur and Udupi, but they are all outdoor tennis courts.
The district receives rainfall for about five months. This leaves the tennis players here with no opportunity to play during the monsoon. The Indoor Tennis Stadium will solve this problem.
“The players will be able to practice tennis throughout the year here. Many local students are now taking to playing tennis. The indoor tennis stadium will help them,” Mr. Shetty said.
There are also provisions for laying four Kabaddi courts and three wrestling courts at the District Indoor Tennis Stadium.
A sum of ₹ 3.75 crore has been spent on the construction of the tennis stadium. This includes ₹ 2 crore provided by the Department of Sports and Youth Empowerment and ₹ 1 crore by Rajya Sabha member Oscar Fernandes under his MPLADS fund. The balance amount has come from the Zilla Panchayat, the Udupi Municipal Council and the Stadium Development Committee.
