Future Plans
We want to share our plans for the Tennis Club! These plans will be presented at the Tennis Club AGM on Monday 9th November 2026. We hope you can come along and see what we want to do with the club. Those plans our outlined here. These are plans at the moment. We are very much in a fact finding phase. We would like your thoughts and get your agreement to make those plans a reality. You the membership will make the decision about what we do. If you have any questions that we haven’t thought of then please let us know and I will add them and our responses to the list below. We intend to do a straw poll at the Tennis AGM to make sure we have some agreement to the plans and recommendations. After that, we would like to send out a survey where you can make you opinions known.
Lighting
We currently have 4 metal-halide lights per Tennis court and Pickleball court. It has been a wish for some time to switch these to LED lights. LED lights have a number of advantages.
- They use less energy, from 60% to 90% (energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/lighting), so they improve our carbon footprint.
- As they use less energy, they are significantly cheaper to run. Currently we charge £2.50 per token that provides half an hour of lighting. We will be able to reduce this significantly.
- They last longer than halogen bulbs, which will reduce costs to the club (prismalighting.co.uk/blogs/news/how-long-do-led-bulbs-last).
- They do not have to warm-up. When our current lights are switched off, they cannot be switched on again immediately. A timer must wait for 10 minutes before the system turns the lights on again.
- They are brighter. Some of us older ones complain that the lights are not bright enough. LED lights produce roughly 2,000 to 4,500 lumens compared to 900 to 1,200 lumens for Halogen lights.
- LED lights have less light spill. Brighter lights do not mean they will be more noticeable by the surrounding area. LED lights are inherently more directional.
Cost
The cost of the lights will be £26,000.
The club is seeking approximately £15,000 from Npower Business Solutions Foundation alongside a similar contribution from Sport England. We have also had contact with Warwickshire LTA and Pickleball England where we can apply for an interest free loan of up to £20,000.
Questions
Here are a selection of questions we have recieved. Some of them need some more investigation and the answers will be expanded upon as we learn more over the coming months. If you feel an answer needs more details, please let us know.
When can they be installed?
Depending on the result of our application for a grant, the LED lights can be installed in the first quarter of 2027.
How long will they take to install?
We think it will take about 2 weeks to install.
The current lights have not reached their end-of-life period. Why are we investing in new lights?
It is true that the current lights have some time before they need to be replaced. However, we believe that now is the time to get the advantages that LED lighting can provide.
Is my membership fee going to go up?
We are seeking money from the two organisations above or by taking a loan so no, we are not going to put up membership fees to pay for this.
Are we still using light tokens?
There has been a debate for many years over whether paying for lights should be part of the overall membership fee or not. LED lights will significantly reduce to lighting cost to member. It is our intention to keep the light token system at a reduced cost for the short-term and see how it goes.
What it is like to play under LED lighting?
The new Padel courts have LED lighting. The general experience is that people can spot the ball better. The Hockey pitch also uses LED lights.
Do some people not get on with LED lights? Has there been eye damage caused by vehicle headlights?
Those who drive know how uncomfortable very bright vehicle headlights can be. Major public health bodies (such as the European Commission Scientific Committees) note that standard, properly installed commercial LED lighting systems emit radiance levels far below the legal and biological thresholds required to cause permanent physical retinal burns. Modern tennis facility upgrades (such as transitioning from glaring old metal halides or poorly directed LEDs to “dark-sky” compliant, properly aimed, lower-glare, and warmer-temperature LED fixtures) dramatically reduce direct eye strain and light spill while improving ball-tracking visibility (www.hdled.com). Catherine McElholm: Many other clubs have had LEDs for quite sometime, we are a bit behind the times. We have played under LEDs at many other clubs in league matches and they do not give off the same glare as our current halogen bulbs do and they are a lot less expensive to run also. Other clubs as well as our members complain about our lights.
I find the height of the current lights very difficult. I often lose the ball in the glare of the lights. Would we be able to lower the height of the lights like those at other clubs?
We have heard that with LED lighting, it is easier to spot the ball. The increased directional nature of LEDs means it should be lighting up the surface you are playing on more than anything surrounding it. The shape of the ‘bulb’ also helps to reduce glare with LED lights now using a honeycomb lens, see the following video for a good example: Anti-Glare ATLANTIS LED PIR Floodlight by LUTEC . The colour of the lighting may also help with a ‘warmer white’ instead of a ‘cool white’, but there may be trade-off with the amount of light it gives. We will be looking at other clubs to see what the optimum height of the lighting should be.
Can the existing lights be repurposed with LED lights? Won’t that be cheaper?
We need to look into whether the existing poles can be used or whether they need to be replaced. It may not be possible to reduce the height of the existing poles to a more optimum height with LEDs. Our initial thought is that any company installing a new system will want to replace them. If they need to be replaced then the height can be changed to a more optimum height.
When the lights are redone can the pickle ball lights be added to the token system rather than trying to track down the key (and remembering to turn them off)? We maybe need to consider how tokens can be obtained when the bar isn’t open although to be fair Tennis have always coped with this.
Yes, when the lighting is redone this can be sorted out. The bar is usually open during hours of darkness.
When the lights are changed can we bring in the ability to override the automatic shut off of the lights (only to be used in the event of a team match having not quite finished)?
Yes, when the lighting is redone this can be sorted out.
When the lights are redone can the netting protecting the courts from cricket balls be raised?
There has been a request to add netting between the edge of the path and the boundary of the Cricket pitch. This is to prevent anyone using the path from being hit by a cricket ball. This is currently being discussed by the Sports Club as a whole.
Will there be a vote for the membership?
We are assuming that new lighting will be accepted by the whole membership. If objections come to light we will ask the membership to fill in a survery or vote.
Court Resurfacing
The current courts were installed in 2013 and have done a great job for us!
However, the courts are showing signs of wear. They have lasted beyond their lifetime and we believe they should be replaced.
- A number of dead-spots have appeared on Court 1.
- Drainage at the back of Court 4 and along the side of Court 3 has caused a problem. When we get a significant amount of rain all at once, the courts can’t drain quick enough so mud tends to collect. This can be dangerous as it can get very slippery. A number of us have had to get the shovels out and clear it off!
- Areas around the baseline are starting to fray.
We would like to replace the current courts. After some discussion with our coach and others we are recommending that we switch surface to an Artificial Grass. We know some of you love the current Euro-Clay, but switching surface offers several advantages.
- Visibility of lines. As you can see from the picture above, when the current courts were installed, the contrast between the reddish court surface and the white lines is sufficient to allow a good visibility of the lines. The courts require new sand to be added (usually every year). The sand comes in a variety of colours. However, the sand that is more reddish in colour, providing a greater contrast to the lines, costs significantly more than a lighter coloured sand. Apparently the sand is ‘burned’ and that makes it darker, but this requires a lot of energy.
- Our coach Dan James says: ‘Euroclay is good but just not a “true” bounce, very slow surface and hard for timing when playing. Tigerturf is more porous and much better for a true bounce, plus the advantages are, less court maintenance i.e sand etc… Also as a player/coach, the surface is much nicer to play on, your timing on shots and recovery is much more efficient and definitely much better on the knees over acrylic and concrete.’
- We won’t need to sweep the courts. Most members are really good in sweeping the courts but unfortunately some are still not doing so.
- No more sand in your shoes.
- No more discolouration of you white shoes.
Cost
We asked Courtstall Services LTD (Gloucestershire) to do an assessment and they have visited the club. The Managing Director of Courtstall is Carl Page and he lives in the village and he has helped us with the Padel courts.
TIGER TURF ADVANTAGE PRO £90,490 plus VAT.
STERLING TURF MATCH PRO £86,980 plus VAT.
As the whole court area will be affected we have also asked for a quote to replace existing Pickleball court to have the COURTSTALL CLASSIC surface at a cost of £11,880.
Questions
How different will play be on these new courts
We are not anticipating the play to be a huge difference to what it is like at the moment. Some of us have played on very fast Artificial Grass, where the ball skids very quickly off the surface. These will not be like that. We are planning to visit other clubs that have the surface we would like to install. We would like to get team players to have a go on them first. If anyone else wants to join us, please let us know.
How long will it take to resurface the 4 Tennis courts?
About 3 weeks.
What colour will the these new courts be?
No decision has been made on this. There are a number of colour combinations available. Blue court, Green surrounding, light Green court, dark Green surrounding. We will put this to a vote.
Is my membership fee going to go up?
No, money has been set aside for the time when we resurface the courts. The current courts have lasted a little longer than we thought! Money was used to build the Padel courts, but as these courts are bringing in money to the club we hope to have the necessary funds by next Autumn.
When are the new courts going to be installed?
We are looking at the end of the summer season next year (October 2027). The Team Tennis have and Club Championships should have been concluded.
I believe that the artificial clay courts don’t have to be orange, don’t Warwick boat club have some new green ones? If so would this reduce the cost differential?
We will find out what Warwick Boat Club have.
Will tiger turf be as good at coping with the rain and ice? The current courts always drained really quickly after heavy rain and coped with ice well when they were at their best, better than other clubs / courts.
Yes, Tiger Turf should drain in the same way as our current courts. We have had problems with very heavy rain which has caused mud to collect at the bottom of Court 3. We have had to get the shovels out and remove it in the past.
There is evidence that our current courts give our teams a home advantage, why would we want to lose this?
This is likely because away teams are not used to our surface. On the other hand, other clubs have a very different surface to ours which means we are not used to their courts when we play away.
My understanding is that you need agreement from both captains in order to play a league tennis match on a multi-lined court?
We will check the rules of the Birmingham and Coventry leagues.
Who will have priority when booking a shared tennis / pickle court?
It will be very difficult to add a ‘priority’ to the Clubspark court booking system for either Tennis or Pickleball players.
Will pickle membership fees rise given the current disparity between tennis and pickle fees when pickle has 3 courts v tennis 4 courts?
The Pickleball club has been growing rapidly since the Pickleball court was installed, hence the need for more provision of Pickleball court facilities for Pickleball players. In general terms the membership fee covers the cost of building and maintaining the courts. If the usage of the courts switches to Pickleball players then we would have to ask them, which is only fair, to contribute more to the cost of building and maintenance. Also, the amount of space that Pickleball courts take up must be taken into account. 3 Pickleball courts is really 1.5 Tennis courts.
Will there be a vote for the membership?
Yes, we will be asking you to fill in a survey, once everyone has had time to look at the plans and ask questions.
Pickleball
The Pickleball Club has grown rapidly since the Mini Tennis Courts was repurposed as a Pickleball Court in 2024. We have seen a large increase in people using the court. There is now a Pickleball Box League and tournaments are played. The Pickleball Club has come under the management of the Tennis Club, though it has been good to see a couple of people volunteer to run the Pickleball Club who are not Tennis players. There are some changes that we would like to make that will affect the Tennis Club. As a Sports Club we would like to do more for our Pickleball players and attract more players to the Club.
Pickleball Court Dimensions
The current Pickleball court used to be a Mini Tennis Court and was not designed to be a Pickleball Court. It turns out that the dimensions of the space that includes the Pickleball court is not optimum. Ideally, the court would benefit from being 5ft longer in length. This would give a bit more space to the baseline area of the Pickleball Court. We have had a few incidents where some have crashed into the back fence when returning a ball.
Therefore it is proposed that we lengthen the Pickleball Court by 5ft. This can happen when the Tennis Courts are resurfaced. This can be shown by the white rectangle below. As mentioned above it is proposed that we resurface the Pickleball court with COURTSTALL CLASSIC surface.
It might be that the existing fencing on Court 4 may need to be moved out by a similar distance, in which case Court 4 would be 5ft wider than it is now. We can use this space to better position the equipment stores.
Pickleball Lines on Court 4
When we resurface the courts we would like to add additional lines to Court 4 for two Pickleball Courts that will run the length of the court.
Questions
They added Pickleball lines to a Tennis Court at Knowle and Dorridge. There was some fallout between the members. Will the same happen here?
By presenting our plans and getting the agreement of members we hope to avoid this situation.
How long will it take to resurface the Pickleball courts?
This will be done when we resurface the Tennis courts and take about 3 weeks.
Why does the Pickleball Court need to be replaced?
The Pickleball court was not initially built with Pickleball in mind. It was originally meant for Mini-Tennis. We would like to change the surface to one more optimum for Pickleball play.
Is there a possibility of adding another Pickleball Court somewhere else in the Sports Club grounds?
We have looked into putting a second Pickleball Court adjacent to the existing one. This would divert the path coming off the car park too much. We have also looked at the space between Court 4 and the Children’s play area. Another alternative is the place a Pickleball court where the existing Cricket nets are. These would need agreement by the local council and a lot of expense.
Do the Tennis Leagues require Tennis courts not to have additional lines on them?
No
Some people might get confused with the additional lines? Has this worked at other clubs?
We are looking into clubs that have had this done.
How do you book these Pickleball courts?
If a member wants to book a court for Pickleball, they will need to book the whole of Court 4.
What are the arrangements for moving the Pickleball nets.
There will be two movable Pickleball nets at the side of the court. These can be moved into position and should be moved back to the side of the court after play. The existing Pickleball court will have a permanent net instead of a movable one.
Will there be a vote for the membership?
Yes, we will be asking you to fill in a survey or vote, once everyone has had time to look at the plans and ask questions.