The newly renovated West End Lawn Tennis Club clubhouse was officially opened in July realising a fantastic new facility for all the community to enjoy.
“What was amazing to see,” says club manager Caroline Harrow, “was the level of support the club got from the whole community. So many people helped in so many ways. Our members never complained about operating out of Portacoms while the build was going on and everyone is so excited by the new clubhouse.”
As one of the very first tennis clubs in Auckland, it was important to members that the new clubhouse retained its heritage aesthetic. This has been achieved along with numerous improvements making it more usable for many different groups. The facility has 70% more open space and can house up to 130 people upstairs at one time. The architect, Brendan Rawson, from Archoffice, has managed to deliver much better use of space with a large common room downstairs for members, a huge viewing deck, new bathrooms and showers and large amounts of storage onsite and all within the same footprint.
Shale Chambers, Chair of the Waitemata Local Board along with the other board members all attended the clubhouse opening. He announced, to great cheers from the crowd, that the West End Cup is now recognised as one of the local board’s major events meaning this fiesta of tennis will be back for the community to enjoy in early December. The new clubhouse will be a hive of activity as the West End Cup normally draws New Zealand’s top players alongside some international stars and is free for spectators to come and enjoy over the four days.
The new clubhouse facility is available for hire both by community groups meeting regularly and for ad hoc events. It has a manager onsite during the week and is licensed with a bar and kitchen available for use.
For more information, please look on the website www.westendtennisclub.co.nz or contact the club manager on westendtennisclub@xtra.co.nz