Dear members,

We held a lively, informal discussion in the clubhouse last Saturday on the Padel project.

We have a sports club with magnificent facilities, but like any club, we have the challenge and responsibility of ensuring that they are maintained, refurbished and, at times, modernised.

At Sunday's AGM, members will be asked to consider replacing the damaged no. 7 tennis court with two new Padel courts.

The Tennis Committee strongly supports the project. Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports worldwide.

Investing in two new courts would broaden SAC’s racket-sport offering, increase all-weather playing capacity, and help attract new members.

As Court 7 will need to be rebuilt in any event, and with support from the Fédération Française de Tennis, the additional net cost of the project would be approximately EUR 125,000.

The Club is currently close to the prudent maximum level of debt, having taken on debt to fund our refurbished pool, so we need to consider various funding options, including a one-off member levy.

The alternative would simply be to rebuild court 7 as a conventional all-weather tennis court, at a cost of approximately EUR 30,000.

However, in the TC's view, that would mean missing a unique opportunity to invest in Padel -- one that is unlikely to repeat itself.

To one of the questions asked last Saturday - what is the cost of building two new Padel courts in addition to repairing tennis court 7 - the answer is two-fold.

The cost of the courts themselves is roughly 40% higher because we would need to lay a complete new concrete base, not forgetting the expense of repairing court 7.
In addition, there is the huge problem of where else to put the Padel courts without compromising cricket, football, and the entertainment capacity we have with the marquee tent.

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the survey. It closes on Saturday night so you have a little time left to complete it if you would like to. We'll let you know the findings on Sunday and share them online.
SAC Padel project survey / https://forms.gle/EMzU1YyKkqabCALy7

Thanks,

Matthew Curtin
Chairman, TC