Multi-use area ‘to boost local sports’ in Nairn
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
NAIRN’S tennis courts are undergoing a £190,000 refurbishment and will include a new multi-use games area (MUGA) which will make the facility more adaptable and available for other sports.
Work on the project began after the completion of the Open Tennis Tournament in July and Pauline Barron, manager of Nairn Sports Club in Viewfield where the courts are part of a complex including squash courts and a gymnasium, said they were due for completion this month.
The tennis courts moved to Viewfield in 1980 when the former clay courts in Albert Street was sold for a sheltered housing project.
The past four decades have seen programmed development of the complex which now boasts over 900 members.
Pauline said: “The polymeric surface of the four tennis courts had reached the end of life.
“We are developing on the footprint of the four tennis courts.
“The trustees of the club decided we would have one MUGA surface with recessed goals and three tennis courts of artificial grass.
“That gives us flexibility to introduce other sports such as netball, walking football, outdoor training, basketball and the facilities will be wheelchair accessible.”
Pauline said the trustees were excited and that after the new courts and MUGA are completed that there will be an official opening day “some time in October”.
The club received an accolade for the local tennis tournament which was voted by Tennis Scotland as the best in the country in 2021.
Pauline added: “We are about to engage Derek Brown from Strathgryffe Tennis Club as a Level 5 full-time head coach and he will continue to be supported by our part-time tennis coaches Maggie Campbell and Gustavo Esperesatti.
“The MUGA is a first for Nairn and we will be encouraging people from the community to come and try it out for different sports.
“We see it being used for five-a-side football, walking football, netball, basketball.”
As well as their own resources the sports club secured funding from the Nairn Davidson Trust, Highland Council and the Scottish Government.
“We cannot thank the funding bodies without whom the development would not have been possible,” said Pauline.
The club is also currently pursuing funding for a tarred surface to provide wheelchair access to the courts.
Club president, Iain O’Grady-Scott, said: “It’s great to see the new area taking shape. There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes from the trustees and from Pauline the club manager to get us to this point. As a charity we rely on our members and it’s a huge thank you from me to everyone who continued to support the club through the pandemic.
“Saying that, we couldn’t have done this project ourselves and raising the funds has required a lot of time and effort,” he said, thanking the organisations that helped provide money. Nairn Sports Club offers fantastic sports facilities for the community and visitors alike. The addition of a multi-use games area along with the replacement of the tennis courts will allow us to offer outdoor classes and new sports opportunities as well as delivering a comprehensive tennis programme for all ages for many years to come.”
