‘Advantage players’: UT takes control of Sector 10 Stadium from CLTA

Experts welcomed the decision. “With Chandigarh Administration taking over the Sector 10 Stadium, tennis players in the city will get tennis training at nominal rates like in other sports complexes run by Chandigarh Sports Department. As a coach myself, I feel the sports department should maintain the level of professional coaching needed in a sport like tennis. The players, either senior or junior, should not suffer. The department can hire additional professional coaches too on contract if they deem it fit so that the trainees get the best of training too,” said a professional coach, who has been associated with Chandigarh team and Indian teams for long.

Sports lawyer and activist Prasang Raheja too has hailed the decision. “UT sports department has been running their academies at other sports complexes too. Now players will get to train paying much less under the UT sports department. CLTA had been violating various guidelines. I have also filed complaints regarding their GST and income tax evasions with authorities concerned. We hope that tennis players will be provided world-class facilities as well as fair treatment with the UT sports department taking over the complex,” said Raheja.

While CLTA charges for group training in various age groups ranged from Rs 1,600 to Rs 5,400, personalised coaching for CLTA trainees ranged from Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000 for 24 days. The rates for personalised coaching for non-CLTA players ranged from Rs 28,000 to Rs 54,000 for 24 days as per CLTA’s website. Age fees for high-performance residential programme for one month was Rs 38,000 while charges for non-residential high-performance programme for CLTA trainees was Rs 11,800 per month and Rs 18,000 for non-CLTA trainees. The CLTA ran gymnasium, personalised gym training as well as yoga classes at the stadium. It also charged players for court booking.

The stadium was built in 1979 and was designed by the then UT chief architect M N Sharma and his team along with Chief Engineer Kulbir Singh. While the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association was formed in 1975, it was not until 1987 that the association got the stadium on lease from the UT Administration. It was renewed in 1997 for 20 years at a lease amount of Rs 100 yearly. In 2017, the lease was extended for five years and eight months at an annual lease money of Rs 1,22,585 before it was renewed for three years with a lease amount of Rs 4.70 lakh for three years.

Last week, the UT Administration terminated the lease after issues regarding subletting of shops at the complex, running a pro-shop and a hostel on the premises as well as objections by UT Audit department over CLTA funds. “We have ended the lease agreement with Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association starting September 10 when the three-year-lease ended. We had found four major issues regarding subletting the complex for a cafe, running a pro-shop at the complex, no proper rules followed for running the CHART Rural Academy on the premises apart from some objections by the UT Audit department over certain payments. We had issued them showcase notices earlier. Despite our objections, there were no satisfactory answers. We have given them seven days to end their activities before the UT Administration takes over the stadium complex,” a UT sports department official had told this paper last week.

The stadium has hosted a number of Davis Cup ties, including Leander Paes’s maiden Davis Cup match in the form of India Japan tie in 1990 apart from India-Australia Davis Cup World Group semi-final in 1993 under CLTA. While the UT Administration has taken over the stadium and will run the tennis programme as well as facilities, CLTA can hire the stadium like other associations for conducting tournaments.