HASTINGS Tennis Club has secured $100,000 in state government funding to upgrade its facilities, including refurbishing its four existing courts and reinstating two courts previously lost to a council dog park.
The works are expected to significantly improve playing conditions and increase capacity at the community-based club.
Club president Stuart McCulloch said the funding marked a major step forward after years of advocacy to improve aging infrastructure and reclaim lost court space.
He said works had begun and were expected to be completed by spring 2026.
The club is currently upgrading the surface of the existing four courts including new lines and some fencing works, with the upgrades to reinstate the final two courts to take place in January.
Funding was provided as part of the Victorian Budget 2024-25 for community sport and recreation projects. It is being delivered to the club in instalments with the first $40,000 having been received.
“The benefits to the club include being able to host our Saturday home teams and have two courts per match, and having six like surfaced courts will allow our coach to arrange holiday tournaments,” McCulloch said.
“We are also hoping to grow our membership through raising community awareness of the club, its facilities and the health benefits of tennis.”
McCulloch said two courts were taken off the club’s lease many years ago and converted to bocce courts by the council, but the “take up of bocci never occurred and by default some members of the community have used them as a dog enclosure”.
Delays occurred to reinstate the courts as the club needed to renew their lease to incorporate the additional two courts before the state government would allow the funding to proceed.
First published in the Mornington News – 23 December 2025
