A passion project that simply started as a way for one Chatham-Kent resident to support her husband’s love of tennis, is now closer to becoming a reality that will benefit all members of the community.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Thursday for a new domed tennis court facility on Bear Line Road in Chatham, which will allow the sport to be played all year round.
Stephanie Chapados has been advocating for the indoor tennis facility for the last six years, with council approving the development of the indoor tennis dome in August 2023 as part of a new regional park.
She said that it was a surreal feeling to finally see shovels in the ground.
“My husband [Mark] plays [tennis] and his coach is in London. So I was tired of us always having to go to London to see his coach and do tournaments and things like that,” she said. “I want to be able to support him and everything else… so why not bring this to Chatham-Kent.”
Stephanie’s husband Mark also advocated for the new facility and said it’s hard to grow a sport in a community if you have to stop playing for part of the year.
“It was always something that bothered me. I would play all summer and compete and then have to stop playing come winter and it always set me back,” he said. “I think we should see [the sport] grow. We have players… we have five high school tennis teams in our community that compete.”
The four-court facility has been leased to and will be run by Tennis Clubs of Canada and another unnamed numbered company.
The project was made possible through several donations, as well as a $200,000 seed money donation from Tennis Canada and Rogers as part of their Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program.
Chatham-Kent was selected by Tennis Canada as one of six municipalities to receive a combined total of $1.2 million through the program to develop covered tennis courts in 2024.
According to Tennis Canada, the addition of indoor courts in Chatham will see local residents spend an additional 400 hours on tennis courts annually. The national organization added that construction of the facility should be completed in time for the 2024-25 fall and winter seasons.
