West End residents cheer as Sargent Park tennis court returns to city's care
CBC
People living near Sargent Park in Winnipeg's West End are rejoicing now that the community will be able to play free tennis in the park's courts, though the person who ran them says the move is a huge blow for the organized sport.
On Thursday, a city committee voted against renewing the lease for the tennis courts at the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex to George Kylar, who's been running the non-profit Sargent Park Tennis Gardens for a decade.
That's after members of the community campaigned to get the six tennis courts back in the hands of the city. Now that that's happened, they're taking the time to celebrate.
"All of us are happy," Jerry Laforteza, who led a group that petitioned the city, told CBC News on Sunday. "It's been a long time coming."
He and about a dozen others gathered at Valour Community Centre on Sunday.
"We worked hard on this," he said. "Now it's our turn to shine."
The courts used to be a place all residents would have access to, says Leila Castro, a community advocate who also helped local residents in their campaign.
"Little by little, they started losing access to the facility," she said, primarily citing the hours the courts would be open.
"There were also times when a group of people who are in that community are playing and occupying some of the courts, and then all of a sudden a group of people … from another part of the city [would] request them to vacate the court."
Rico Villarin said he became involved in the campaign because of his children, who are in their early 20s. They wanted to play tennis, but Villarin said they didn't think it was fair to pay a $10 membership fee to use the facility when other city-owned courts are free.
"Other tennis courts would …be far, then instead of playing tennis, [people] will try to find a different sport," Villarin said.
Villarin said the hours were also too limited, particularly for working people.
About half of the people who will likely use the facility are Filipino or from other immigrant communities, Castro said.
Coun. Cindy Gilroy, who represents the area, pushed for the decision amid residents' concerns.
