Treloar Park Tennis Centre $3.6m upgrade hit by cost blowout

According to a report going to councillors at their next meeting, a project to upgrade the courts at the Treloar Park Tennis Centre, which was expected to be finished in March, has run out of money just before reaching the finish line.

The report from council's project manager recommends spending an additional $150,000 to finish off the redevelopment as previous delays have eaten up the existing budget.

"The project team is essentially delivering an infrastructure project in 2023 with a 2018 budget," the report reads.

The report going to council says after another cost blowout was cleared in 2021 with support from the state government and Tennis Australia, construction on the 13 world-class courts proceeded with minor weather delays.

Eight of the courts are complete, with four already in use by the North West Tennis Academy.

However, once the final courts are complete in November, the report says "the entirety of the current budget [will be] spent or committed, with no budget remaining to add value through things like landscaping."

The $150,000 addition is expected to "ensure the project is finished to a high standard," with a carpark to be built in early 2024 in addition to installing 5000 square metres of topsoil and turf, 5000 square metres of irrigation, 100 metres of handrails, and planting "multiple" tress and shrubs throughout the park.

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The report also says Wests Tamworth, which owns the venue and has contributed $975,000 to the renovation, is facing its own cost blowout on the park's clubhouse, change rooms, and pro shop, to the tune of about $2.5 million.

Wests is committed to funding the additional cost of the clubhouse redevelopment, and if council approves its additional $150,000 contribution, the total cost of what was once a $2.8 million project could surpass $6.3 million.

This setback is yet another in a long list of delays the tennis centre renovations have suffered.

The project's first legs date back to 2017, and a series of planning delays - on top of a global pandemic - pushed back the start of construction from 2020 all the way to 2022.

Now, with the project requiring the approval of additional funding, works will likely continue well into 2024.

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