Minister set to officially open new tennis base

Minister for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne will visit Athlone this Friday morning (January 12) for the grand opening of Athlone Tennis Club's new home and state-of-art facilities.

The club relocated from Athlone GAA club to a new base beside Athlone Regional Sports Centre, just off the Ballymahon Road roundabout, before Christmas.

Phase one A of the club's new facilities has introduced clay court tennis to Athlone and comprises of three adult-size tennis courts, three children's courts and a modular new clubhouse as part of a half a million euro investment.

The club was recipient of grants of more than €330,000 from Leader, the department's Sports Capital Programme and Westmeath County Council, and this coupled with substantial funds raised by the club membership, helped to pay for the first phase of the development. The club is also hugely grateful to Westmeath County Council who have facilitated a 50-year lease agreed for the land beside Athlone RSC.

For all the hard work, the new facilities have been very well received by members, a spokesperson said ahead of the opening, and the membership has already increased over that short few weeks.

Everyone in Athlone Tennis Club is delighted to get to this stage and to welcome the Minister to view the project, the spokesperson added.

A large amount of dignitaries are expected to gather at the club's new facilities, including the CEO of Tennis Ireland, Kevin Quinn, local Minister Peter Burke, and councillors from 11.30 on Friday, with the Minister of State in the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Thomas Byrne due to perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon. The opening is sponsored by Zenith, Blyry.