sional sport influenced partici-
pation? In a word: yes. Tennis
Canada is reporting double
digit growth in grassroots
participations. The challenge
now is to continue to foster
this interest.
The reality is, Canada doesn’t
have the covered courts it
needs to support year-round
interest.
Currently, Canada only has
750 accessible covered courts.
That’sonepubliccourt for every
50,000 people. Compare this
to most European countries,
where the number is closer to
one in 5,000 to 15,000 people.
Downey
says
bubbled
(covered) courts make sense
at a municipal level too. A $20
court fee can help cover the
$2 million cost of covering
the courts. “The sweet spot is
putting the bubble up for eight
months of the year, and leave
it open and free in the summer.
This way we are not taking
anything away from citizens
in the summer, but taking an
otherwise unused asset and
making it usable in the rest of
the year.”
The Rogers Cup
Interest in the Rogers Cup
Félix Auger-Aliassime - Miami Open
Credit: Mauricio Paiz
JUNE 2019 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 9
