The Fergus Tennis Club (FTC) made a delegation to Centre Wellington council Monday in hopes of adding five new courts and an all-season bubble.

Club President Sheila Hogarth explained capacity is an issue and that the club has reached 450 members. She added that is double capacity with numbers still on the rise.

FTC uses three courts right now, but Hogarth asked council to consider making an investment. It would cost the township $30,000 for the courts as well as the bubble. That figure would drop with help from Tennis Canada and several other grants.

No potential location was discussed during the meeting, but Hogarth says somewhere central to Fergus and Elora would be great.

"If we were able to pick a spot, it would be in Aboyne. It would be near the hospital there, something that's close to the trail," Hogarth explained.

"We have had a lot of people coming from both Elora and Fergus. They could come along the trail on their bikes to tennis. I think it'd be an amazing spot, for the kids, for the schools, for everything," she went on to say.

Hogarth said the courts are primarily for tennis, but she wouldn't rule out other sports that make sense on the courts occupying them to keep them well-used.

"We are struggling on three courts, so tennis is still going to need the majority of the time," Hogarth said.

"Certainly, though, we want to fill those courts at least 90 per cent of the day. 90 per cent of the time those courts should be full. So, we'd be happy to open up to other sports that can easily play, like volleyball, badminton," she added.

Were FTC to go at it alone financially, they'd be out $130,000 for the five playing surfaces, and not get the bubble.

Council will make a decision later on as they work their way through the 2024 budget.

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