The relocation of the Prince George Tennis Club to a site adjacent to the Prince George Golf and Curling Club clubhouse is back on the table, following a decision by city council Monday.
Council authorized city staff to prepare a business plan for relocating the tennis club from its current location to the golf course's clubhouse. Earlier this month, city council approved the first two readings of a rezoning to facilitate selling the city-owned tennis club site for commercial use.
"For me, the [clubhouse] building is the issue," Mayor Shari Green said. "[But] certainly we have an obligation if we move tennis."
Under an agreement with the tennis club, the city has an obligation to relocate the club to a site with equal or superior facilities. If the city were to relocate the tennis club to the clubhouse site, it may have to take partial or complete ownership of the aging clubhouse - a move which raised concerns for a number of city councillors at their Jan. 9 meeting.
"This report is significantly better than the last time," Coun. Cameron Stolz said. "[But] I'm still gravely concerned about the state of the building."
In a report to city council, city community services director Colleen Van Mook said staff will conduct meetings with stakeholders and prepare a business plan to city council by March 12.
City community services director Colleen Van Mook said the business plan would examine the potential capital costs to the city if the club was relocated to the clubhouse site.
The business plan will examine various models of ownership for the clubhouse building, possible repairs or upgrades needed, and identify operating costs and revenue sources, Van Mook wrote in her report to council.
"What you have before you today is based on the request of the tennis group," Van Mook said. "It is most important that we work with the tennis group and, of course, the golf and curling club."
Prince George Tennis Club
treasurer Rob Prideaux said the club has examined several possible locations, and settled on the location by the Prince George Golf and Curling Club clubhouse as the best - and possibly the cheapest for the city.
"They have change rooms and meeting rooms. We would just need a court built," Prideaux said. "We have to have our courts relocated regardless and the city would have to own them. All we're asking at this point is to work on a business plan."
Currently the tennis club operates eight hard courts, four with stadium lighting, a clubhouse and training field. The city owns the location, just off Highway 16, and the tennis club pays the operational costs.
"Our hope is we'll have something built fairly quickly. We like the location ... and feel there is some
advantages to it."
