“So our view was that that needed a really close look at.”
In 2021, Tennis Queensland previous chief executive Mark Hanley said the centre’s courts had a 75 per cent occupancy, and it was “packed to the rafters” during the Brisbane International.
Team Australia (back row from left) Storm Hunter, Taylah Preston, Sam Stosur, Daria Saville, Ellen Perez and Arina Rodionova pose with junior Australia tennis players Jennifer Ott, Vesna Marinkov, Emilie Chen, Jizelle Sinai, Renee Alame and Koharu Nishikawa during a practice session ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier at Pat Rafter Arena in April.Credit: Getty
At that time, he reminded tennis fans that federal Labor in 2019 promised $18 million to build a second roofed tennis stadium at Tennyson.
Only minor improvements are planned for the Queensland Tennis Centre before 2032, with former sport minister Stirling Hinchliffe in 2021 previously ruling out expansions.
Tennis is booming in Queensland on the back of success in recent years from Ash Barty, Sam Stosur, John Millman and the popular Brisbane International.
More than 4000 fans were at the 5500-seat Pat Rafter Arena every day for the Billie Jean King Cup, the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup.
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Brisbane’s Olympic organising committee said it had recently met with Tennis Queensland and Tennis Australia executives to discuss the QTC and the proposed plans.
On Wednesday, Tennis Queensland said it was in discussion with the Queensland government about the International Olympic Committee’s “new norm” strategy, which asks host cities to make best use of existing facilities.
