Council looks for more public access to Oakes Park tennis courts
July 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
They’ve gone 12 years without an official agreement, so what’s one more?
Fort Erie will wait until planned upgrades are complete at the Oakes Park tennis courts before signing a new service agreement with the Fort Erie Tennis Club. In the meantime, however, they’re asking staff to work with the club to find more opportunities for public access.
Questions remained among members of council when a previously deferred staff report on the courts returned for discussion at the July 7 council-in-committee meeting. The main concerns were similar to what they brought up a month earlier: public access and the length of the agreement.
“There definitely needs to be more public access,” said Mayor Wayne Redekop. “The public should have access to these courts whenever the club isn’t using them.”
The club has operated at the Oakes Park courts since 1988, but the last lease agreement expired back in 2013. However, with significant upgrades coming to the courts, staff have been in negotiation with the club to once again formalize the partnership.
Fort Erie has several comparable agreements with groups and clubs, such as the Bertie Boating Club and various sports organizations.
While councillors have pushed for more public access, a staff update said the club would struggle to offer supervision for additional public access time, as volunteers were only available to cover the current Monday evening open courts.
“The idea that the public would have access a few hours a week, that just doesn’t cut it for me,” Redekop said, though he also acknowledged the town doesn’t have anyone else to oversee the operation of the courts.
Councillors suggested being creative, using technology like QR codes or possibly partnering with the nearby library to find ways to increase access without putting an undue burden on the club’s volunteers.
“I think there could be a solution in there,” said Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes.
The other major concern was the length of the proposed agreement, which staff proposed as 10 years with an option to extend another 10 years.
The staff update said a shorter agreement could be explored, but they recommended the longer version to correspond with other similar agreements. It highlighted several other agreements that were between 20 and 40 years, though some were from different types of places such as community centres.
Timelines for the upgrades at the courts aren’t completely certain, though staff said the plan is to finish them by the end of this year so they’re ready for 2026 but without interrupting play this season.
Given that, CAO Chris McQueen said a renegotiation ahead of 2026 makes sense.
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About The Author
Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards is a longtime Niagara community journalist who has covered a variety of beats, including business, agriculture, the wine industry and politics. When not writing, there's a good chance he can be found at a baseball diamond or curling rink.
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