August 7, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
A MIXED-USE sporting precinct is under construction in Jabavu, Soweto, to replace the neglected tennis stadium constructed in the 1970s with the aid of a donation by tennis champion Arthur Ashe.
The precinct, which will provide a safe place for extra-mural activities and professional sport development, and a library, skills development centre and tennis clubhouse with viewing decks, should be complete by December.
Over the years, the stadium has become rundown and the original umpires quarters were irreversibly vandalised. The long grass served as a hideout for criminals and over weekends revellers left the area strewn with beer bottles and other debris. Even the centre nets and the fencing put in to separate the eight parallel tennis courts had been removed.
"This is actually the second time that this stadium is being redone," says Sid Clark, the City's deputy director for strategic support in the department of social development. "We are hoping with the new development surrounding it that people will have a greater sense of caring for the property."
Each of the courts will be resurfaced and the lines repainted. Seating will be added below the clubhouse overlooking the courts and the vacant land opposite will be landscaped to accommodate picnicking spectators.
The development of the tennis clubhouse is being handled by Tennis South Africa, but the City of Johannesburg will be in charge of maintaining it and co-ordinating the use of the facility. Tennis South Africa will also conduct tennis workshops in Soweto, which will ensure that the community has a continued interest in the sport and make good use of the facility.
About R4.5million, some of it from the National Lottery Distribution Fund and the Gauteng Department of Sport, will be spent on upgrading the tennis area.
The finishing touches to the newly built umpires' quarters and male and female change rooms are currently being added.
The three-storey library, which cost around R10 million, has already been constructed, and the interior furnishing is in the process of being installed. The completed library will contain a reference section, lockers, music and video rooms as well as computer rooms.
With a donation from cellphone company Vodacom, the children's library will be filled with books, charts, cushions, miniature tables and other educational toys.
A row of small rooms has been built for skills development in sewing, cooking and computer literacy and all the facilities have been designed to accommodate wheelchairs.
Construction on the sports centre, which will house facilities for netball, basketball and indoor cricket, will begin as soon as funding is finalised.
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