While the city is looking at the future of its many hockey and ice pads, one group is looking to utilize a surplus arena at little cost to the city.
Cambridge Tennis president Gordon Miller has been playing tennis in the city for over 10 years. After trying to promote the sport here locally, the club turned its attention towards Duncan McIntosh Arena to create an indoor tennis facility.
"There's a huge vacuum in the Kitchener Cambridge area for tennis," said Miller, citing the closure of a Kitchener facility that left hundreds of players without a home.
There are currently only two places in the area to play indoors; Waterloo Tennis Club and Guelph Royal City and according to Miller are difficult to get in.
"Waterloo Tennis Club has a waiting list of 700; it's impossible for the general public to play indoor tennis. Guelph Royal City, they're filled all the time, seven days a week, 14 hours a day, with a 98 per cent booking rate," he said. "There is a real need for it in Cambridge."
In 2022, at the suggestion of the City of Cambridge, all of the local tennis clubs in the city including Hespeler Tennis Club, Victoria Park Tennis Club and Cambridge Tennis Club came together to form Tennis Cambridge to advocate for an indoor facility and promote the sport. Miller is also the founder of the group.
Tennis Cambridge has identified the hockey arena that has been named by the city as a surplus ice pad, but the arena might already be spoken for.
The future of Duncan McIntosh Arena is currently up in the air with the city noting that there is a capital project proposed in 2025 for a Recreation Facilities Action Plan which will review the future opportunities and uses of Dickson, Duncan MacIntosh and Karl Homuth Arenas.
"At this time Duncan Mac remains open as an ice facility," said Alana Russell, director of communications for the city. "Opportunities for community consultation will be part of that plan which will provide council with options for future consideration which could include continued arena operation."
At Thursday's city budget input meeting, Tennis Cambridge proposed turning the arena at Churchill Park into a fully operational tennis facility, but at this time city council isn't sure about the location.
"We were approached by the mayor and other councillors who are very supportive of an indoor facility, but the arena might be off the table for now," said Miller. "The ice pad was decommissioned for about six months and it seemed like the perfect candidate, but if they go in a different direction we accept that."
To continue operating as a hockey arena Duncan McIntosh will need a few upgrades that could end up costing a fair amount of money according to Miller.
The tennis proposal would use grants and subsidies from Tennis Canada to help renovate.
"There is a grant we could apply for that is $250,000. This would cover almost all the costs, leaving very little up to the city," added Miller.
While Tennis Cambridge has another meeting with Mayor Jan Liggett and city staff in February, the optimism about finding a location for a new facility is very real for Miller and his team.
The City of Cambridge has recently opened the new Cambridge Soccer Complex on Fountain Street and are in the process of constructing the Cambridge Recreation Complex. They have made it a direction of theirs to focus on recreation facilities and the needs of the community, something Miller adds lines up with a new tennis facility in the city.
Looking at the Guelph and Waterloo indoor courts, Miller is confident that any indoor facility in Cambridge would be a viable and sustainable revenue stream and would help the non-profit tennis clubs in the city.
Another option is constructing a bubble-like facility, similar to the Cambridge Youth Soccer facility on Fountain Street. This would allow the city and Tennis Cambridge to build a purpose-built facility that would accommodate tournaments and spectators.
Miller said Conestoga president John Tibbits is a member of the Cambridge Tennis Club and regularly plays at facilities in the city. He floats the idea of even being able to build the new facility at the spot near Conestoga College where the recreation complex was originally going to go.
"The need is there, now all we have to do is work out the details," said Miller.
While Duncan McIntosh Arena might be out of reach, the organization is looking forward to seeing a facility in the city to help the next generation of players grow.
