Wilding Park revitalization: Plans to clone the stadiums used in Grand Slam’s stadiums

A popular sporting venue in Canterbury was nearly lost in the earthquake of February 22, 2011. Almost a decade ago Chris Barkley talks about how the spiritual home of tennis has bounced back.

After nearly a decade after the liquefaction and tremors that produced the last sought-after Canterbury tennis deck at Wilding Park, the stadium cloning scheme used on the Grand Slam courts is running smoothly.

The traditional Fescue / ryegrass blend in Wimbledon and the red dirt synonymous with Roland Garros are designated for the spiritual home of the sport in Canterbury, if not New Zealand, where the regeneration project continues after the earthquake.

Wilding Park already houses the hard courts associated with the Open Championships in Australia and the US, so aspiring CEO of Canterbury tennis, Ryan Forbes, is setting his sights on Europe.

“We want to replicate as close as possible to the Grand Slam roofs because that will give us a chance (to host) at the ITF level,” he said.

“One of the grass stadiums will be a special stadium so we can host the Davis Cup.”

The development of the all-round court craft of ambitious professionals and catering to tourists – post-Covid – are other drivers of converting 11,500 square meters of land that may have been lost for real estate development.

The facility’s original grass pitches were destroyed by the earthquake of February 22, 2011, a natural disaster that would have seen Canterbury tennis abandon the venue named after Wimbledon champ Anthony Wilding, who was killed during World War I in 1915.

After the earthquake, Christchurch City Council and the Wilding Park and Canterbury Tennis Foundation have considered whether to move to Wigram’s Nga Puna Wai Sports Center, which has 12 acrylic courts.

But the Canterbury tennis team chose cohesion, prioritizing the repair of six indoor courts, then making the 18 outdoor courts playable.

Then they persuaded the Wilding Park Foundation, which owned the Lynnwood complex, to keep the block, which used to accommodate nine grass fields.

“Fortunately, we managed to convince the founding board to stick with it, and most excitingly, we hired a contractor to restore the nine grass pitches,” Forbes said.

Ground preparation began this week, and the courts must begin working in two weeks, and it must take a year before they are operational.

Forbes, who spent time at Wimbledon while working in London, was in contact with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to get Wilding Park grass as close to the sacred turf as possible.

“They have had to go 100 percent of reggrass due to the heavy use (during Wimbledon). They recommended that we use what they used to be, the fescue / reggrass mix,” Forbes said.

They said, ‘We really prefer you to do what you do.’

Forbes said a first-tier – and ultimately mud – grass pitch facility in New Zealand will benefit domestic and foreign players alike, with the Australian market targeting if and when the pandemic subsides.

“It will give the top players a competitive advantage if they play on turf,” Forbes said. “They can come here and play against teams that aren’t necessarily accustomed to playing on turf.”

Canterbury tennis can entice foreign players to Christchurch to use the courts before tournaments.

“Australia doesn’t have Wimbledon-style turf. They have Italian-style mud but don’t have a chance to play on all Grand Slam surfaces in one place,” said Forbes.

“Providing that environment for other countries is a great attraction for us, as it enables us to generate revenues, and puts us on the international map.”

Forbes said about $ 10 million was needed to complete the Canterbury tennis vision for the new Wilding Park, and he was confident it would pay off.

“This is not unrealistic from the perspective of corporate support and grant funding,” he said.

“When people start to see that we are breathe life again in this facility, they get out of the woodwork … the philanthropists and people interested in the game are so keen to get involved. Now it’s back on the right track.

“The goal is to turn this into a world-class tennis facility that will be of great commercial benefit to this city.”

Plane wall of stars

The concrete volleyball wall survived a barrage of ground strikes from Björnburg and the Christchurch earthquakes, although it was still on shaky grounds once the future of the city’s tennis headquarters emerged.

Demolition was an option available after the February 22, 2011 earthquake, although Forbes gave these suggestions a gentle favor as he dashed to salvage another connection to the sport’s past.

Forbes had already insisted on restoring the wrought-iron war memorial gates on Woodham Road, the process that saw Wilding Park 1927 return after it was sanded and repainted to its former glory last September.

There is a lot of Providence in these portals. I was determined to make sure we made a statement about restoring and preserving some of this great history. ”

Forbes applied the same philosophy to less aesthetically pleasing gray blocks enclosed in a wire mesh fence.

“There was a discussion about getting rid of it,” said Forbes, who has fond memories of practicing on the wall during his school days.

“I ended up hitting that side of the wall and character (stormed the parking lot in a Ford exhalation full of soft dice) turns out to be Kelly Everenden who was on the other side.

“Some (New Zealand) greats like Unnie Barron and Brian Fairley used this wall … Bjorn Borg was shocked before an exhibition match with Chris Lewis, who had just reached the Wimbledon Final (1983),” recalls Forbes.

So the wall will also be renovated and will feature the names of local and international stars who honed their skills there and dug into concrete.

“We’ll put paintings on it, so when the kids hit this flying wall they will understand that this whole place has a lot of history with some of the greats of our game.”

Some of these names – particularly Wimbledon champion and WWI victim Anthony Wilding – will also appear on the planned Walk of Fame toward the entrance to the indoor stadiums, and the pics will be in an aisle.

“We want to make it clear that when you walk here, you follow in their footsteps,” Forbes said.

Technology to improve the game

Juniors dedicated to potential grandeur and casual players who are happy to get it online within Wilding Park have access to the same shooting mastery technique that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal used.

Smart Court Technology is used for judgment when elite players challenge line calls, and it’s also available to players at Tennis Canterbury.

Six cameras focus on an indoor field and record information that coaches and players alike can use.

“It can not only rule the game but also give you stats like spin speed,” Forbes said.

“High-performance athletes can send out a hundred balls and technology can quickly summon that.

“The coach can then get immediate feedback, and they don’t have to just rely on their eyes.”

The Smart Court Technology costs $ 100,000 and is one of only two in New Zealand – the other in Auckland.

The Canterbury Tennis Club also created a high-performance program for six athletes in January, so the professional store was pressed and booked with a gymnasium designed for tennis players and a gymnasium room.

The entertainment player has not been overlooked as indoor courts can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, a common move for taxi drivers.

They are not ready to sleep at 2 am until they can play for a few hours, Forbes said.

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