OTA Tennis Centre Allan East

Diamond Schmitt Architects

The City of Toronto and the Ontario Tennis Association announced the signing of a long-term Ground Lease and Community Access Agreement for the development of a Tennis Centre in the Allen East District, within Toronto’s York Centre Ward.   

The OTA, a not-for-profit Provincial Sport Organization (PSO), will operate the 30-court facility which will help ease the indoor and outdoor capacity issues the sport has been faced with at both the rec and high-performance levels. The OTA currently has large waiting lists for some of its junior tournaments, especially in the winter months. Having its own facility will allow the OTA to increase playing capacity, providing opportunities for youth to continue developing their skills and competitive acumen. 

“The OTA is proud to enter into this agreement with the City of Toronto. We feel that, given the popularity and notable growth of tennis across Ontario, the new state-of-the-art tennis centre will become a pipeline for the next generation of world-class players like Victoria Mboko, Bianca Andreescu and Milos Raonic.” - OTA President and CEO Richard Mainella. 

An important part of the agreement sees the OTA providing tennis courts and public spaces that will be available for, and dedicated to, community-specific programming.The Centre will offer ample access to the residents of the Allen East neighborhood, giving them the opportunity to play and learn tennis at the rec level. It is a win-win for the sport and the community.

“The land lease agreement we signed is an important first step in continuing the growth of our sport at all levels.” - OTA Board Chair Arthur Wolf.

“The OTA’s new Tennis Centre is a fantastic project that will increase playing capacity, with the aim of making tennis more accessible year-round! This project is an important component of the need to develop more community tennis facilities to serve the City of Toronto. Tennis Canada looks forward to seeing this great initiative come to life.” – Tennis Canada CEO Gavin Ziv.

With a targeted opening in the fall of 2030, the complex will be an easily accessible community hub (located near Toronto’s new TTC stations) to connect, energize and inspire health and wellness among people of all ages, socio-economic background and fitness levels. It will also create jobs and boost economic activity in the area. The OTA board, staff and its advisors have been working closely with City of Toronto York Centre City Councillor James Pasternak on the agreement since January 2019.

“We are pleased that this significant lease agreement between the City of Toronto and Ontario Tennis Association has been finalized. This multi-purpose facility will be used by the wider community for a range of sports and community events that will bring new strength to our local neighbourhoods.” - Toronto CityCouncillor, York Centre, James Pasternak.

For further information on the OTA Tennis Centre contact the OTA at ota@tennisontario.com.

Left to right: Gavin Ziv, Tennis Canada President and CEO, Stephen Moranis, Consultant to the OTA President & CEO, James Pasternak, City of Toronto Councillor, York Centre, Vic Gupta, CEO of CreateTO, Laurie Conn-Zuckerman, Office of Roman Baber Member of Parliament York Centre, Arthur Wolf, OTA Board Chair, Richard Mainella, OTA President & CEO.

About the Ontario Tennis Association
Founded in 1918, the OTA is a non-profit, provincial sport association for tennis in Ontario. It is the largest provincial sport association in Canada, with 260 member clubs representing 85,000 adult and junior tennis players. The OTA encourages participation in the sport of tennis and provides a structure of services which will assist players to reach a level of competence consistent with their personal goals and abilities. The OTA sanctions and operates the Junior, Senior and Open Provincial Championships and is located at Sobeys Stadium, home of the National Bank Open and Tennis Canada. OTA junior alumni include 12-time Grand Slam Doubles Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Daniel Nestor, 3-time Doubles Grand Slam Champion Gabriela Dabrowski, Milos Raonic, Denis Shapovalov, 2025 NBO Champion Vicky Mboko and 2019 U.S. Open Singles Champion Bianca Andreescu. For more information on the OTA, please visit our Web site at: www.tennisontario.com. 

Land Acknowledgement
The City of Toronto and the Ontario Tennis Association acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

OTA Staff