District Tennis Stadium likely to be ready in two months in Udupi.

The construction of the District Tennis Stadium, which began on on 72 cents of land at Ajjarkadu, in June 2016, is expected to be completed in a couple of months.

The stadium is being constructed at a cost of ₹3.5 crore. Of this, ₹1 crore each has already been provided by the State government and MP's Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund of Rajya Sabha member Oscar Fernandes. The remaining ₹1.5 crore has been sanctioned by the government.

The tennis stadium will have seating galleries, which can accommodate 500 persons on the northern and southern sides.

It will also have an administrator’s room, separate locker rooms for men and women, a trainer’s room, a first-aid niche, a storeroom, an equipment room, and a warm-up room. It will house a cafeteria and have separate toilet facilities for men and women. It will also have parking facilities for 16 cars.

Though there are tennis courts in places, including Brahmavar, Kundapur, Tenkanidiyur, and Udupi, they are outdoor courts.

The District Tennis Stadium will be an indoor one as the district receives rainfall for nearly six months in a year. “This is the first among the indoor tennis stadiums in the State,” said Roshan Kumar Shetty, Assistant Director of Sports and Youth Empowerment.

Two synthetic tennis courts will be constructed within the stadium. “The construction of synthetic courts will make it possible to hold national-level tennis tournaments,” he said.

Once the construction of the District Tennis Stadium is completed, the Department of Sports and Youth Empowerment plans to hire two coaches to hone the skills of young tennis players. “There is a lot of enthusiasm and interest in tennis among youngsters. Proper coaching will help them,” Mr. Shetty said.

Nirmiti Kendra is constructing the District Tennis Stadium. “We will finish all the works in a couple of months by August. We will only have to look into the painting aspect of the stadium as the monsoon begins after May,” said Arun Kumar, Project Director of the kendra.

THE HINDU