\u2018It\u2019s in a great location\u2019: Penticton Tennis Club makes case to stay at current site<\/p>\n
Published 11:27 am Wednesday, July 15, 2026<\/p>\n
It remains unclear whether the Penticton Tennis Club (PTC) will stay or relocate to another site as the city moves forward with revitalization plans along the northeast shore of Okanagan Lake.<\/p>\n
Penticton City Council on Tuesday, July 14, endorsed most of the Esplanade Renewal Plan \u2014 including improvements to the nearby KVR Trail connection and redevelopment of yacht club facilities \u2014 but unanimously voted to remove an item that called for the relocation of the tennis club.<\/p>\n
Council asked staff to return with a separate plan that involves working with the PTC to explore options for the club, including costs associated with upgrading and staying at its current site (675 Marina Way).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my humble opinion that uprooting the tennis club and finding a new location is not ideal for anyone,\u201d Coun. Ryan Graham said. \u201cAnd I think they\u2019re there now, it is a small footprint, and this whole Esplanade can be worked around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Esplanade Renewal Plan is a multi-decade vision for the area that includes a new waterfront park and promenade, as well as the repurposing of the space to support water-based recreation uses.<\/p>\n
Caught up in those plans is the four-court PTC, with club board members Lori Grant and Cher Watkins telling council on Tuesday they envision staying at their current location with a long-term user agreement with the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemoving the tennis facility from its current location to another city property will likely be problematic, considering existing park space, other user groups, noise, traffic, parking, night lights and the potential for increased costs to the city,\u201d the PTC added in a letter to council.<\/p>\n
Council was receptive to the club\u2019s concerns, noting that it would like more time to explore potential sites before committing to any relocation plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the tennis facility needs upgrades, but it\u2019s in a great location,\u201d Coun. Campbell Watt said. \u201cThis could be a win-win. Maybe by moving, it turns into six courts and a better opportunity for a clubhouse. But the location, of course, is great, so it\u2019s hard to give that up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coun. Isaac Gilbert agreed. He said he supports the Esplanade Renewal Plan, but urged caution over moving too fast with plans involving the PTC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re okay with having the tennis court stay if we\u2019re not able to find an agreement with a suitable location for them in the future,\u201d Gilbert said.<\/p>\n
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield even suggested a phased approach to revitalizing the area as the city weighs what to do with the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we phased it so that everything (in the Esplanade Renewal Plan) except the tennis courts was done, and then phase two could be the tennis court area, which could be dealt with later after a feasibility study, when we know a little more about what we\u2019re talking about with the costs, you know, or potential relocation,\u201d Bloomfield said.<\/p>\n
The PTC currently operates on a month-to-month user agreement, meaning it is unable to raise funds and apply for grants.<\/p>\n
In its presentation to council, the club also said it has no running water, requires its courts to be rebuilt and stores equipment in a sea container with no temperature control.<\/p>\n
Staying and revitalizing its current location would be cheaper than moving to a new site, the club estimated in its presentation, adding that it would commit to fundraising.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been there under conditions that are deplorable,\u201d Graham said in support of working with the club to stay where it currently is. \u201cThat asset clubhouse that\u2019s been on that parcel hasn\u2019t had utilities for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PTC has more than 300 members. It was formed in 1898 on Tennis Street, before moving to a location on Skaha Lake after the Second World War.<\/p>\n
It has resided at Marina Way since 1975.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s in a great location\u2019: Penticton Tennis Club makes case to stay at current site Published 11:27 am…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-804613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}