Development of tennis courts in Dorćol to start in mid-December – preparations for "ATP Beograd 2009"

Construction of tennis courts in Dorćol, where the first professional tournament in Serbia “ATP Beograd 2009” will be organized, will start in mid-December and it will cost about 70m RSD. The reconstruction program includes development of seven courts that will satisfy ATP standards. They will also be used for organization of tennis tournament within the scope of "Universiade".

Novak Đoković’s dream came true last season – he won the first grand slam tournament in Melbourne and Masters in Shangai, and now he and his family are going to make it possible for the wish of many generations to come true – Serbia and Belgrade will become the hosts of an important tennis event, which could stay in ATP calendar for a long time. Old tennis courts within SC "Milan - Gale Muškatirović" will be completely refurbished and, thanks to company "Mašinoprojekt", they will get a brand new looks.

- Our wish was to be as practical as we can. The courts are being reconstructed for the needs of ATP tournament, but they will also be used during the Universiade – said Igor Miklja, the City Sports Secretary.

Construction of tennis courts will be financed by the Republic of Serbia, the City of Belgrade and the Borough of Stari Grad, and they will set aside about 70m RSD from their budgets for that purpose. The reconstruction should be finished prior to mid-April 2009, that is, two weeks before the tournament starts.

According to the project elaborated by "Mašinoprojekt", the whole complex should comprise seven courts. The central tennis court will have 5,000 seats, while the two smaller courts will be able to hold 3,000 spectators. Development of another four ancillary courts is in the pipeline, while the stands will be prefabricated.

- I grew up in Dorćol and I am familiar with the condition of the courts in former "25. maj". ATP is very demanding and it was clear from the start that the present conditions are far from satisfying. In addition to modern courts, such tournament also requires organized surrounding space, locker rooms, gym, massage rooms and medical center, media center and series of ancillary facilities. However, I have no doubts that everything will be at top-quality level, and it is good that, once the planned tournaments are over, the facility can be used permanently – says Radmilo Armenulić, our famous tennis expert.

1. Central court (prefabricated stands for about 5,000 people)
2. Court no. 1 (3,000 seats)
3. Court no. 2 (3,000 seats)
4-7. other courts

ATP approved of issuing of license for organization of the tournament to the Đoković family (company "Family sport") two weeks ago and that is why realization of the project must start urgently because the tournament should take place at the beginning of May 2009. Before it was for certain that Belgrade can organize an ATP tournament, company "Mašinoprojekt" had finished the project for reconstruction of entire SC "Milan - Gale Muškatirović", so that it was logical that that company would be given priority and that it would design the project for reconstruction of courts for the needs of the tournament.

The Project Manager, Ivan Jauković, says that it was one of the company’s easier tasks.

- It is a small job to us, but it is going to be exceptionally significant to the city. We have excellent cooperation with the Đoković family and the borough of Stari grad, and my opinion is that we’ve been given priority because we were able to finish the entire project in a very short time. It took us about two weeks to finish it.

The works should commence as soon as the weather allows, and the company is exclusively in charge of reconstruction of the courts and development of ancillary facilities.

- We are to develop courts, stands, ancillary facilities, such as locker romos, VIP boxes, media center, etc. The project for development of parking lot is being elaborated by the Directorate. Some people from "Family sport" were coming and asking us if it was possible for everything to be finished so soon. We are the company with 250 employees and everything is possible with us - says Jauković.

Reconstruction of tennis courts will also include construction of access junctions, parking spaces, stores and organization of the surrounding area. These courts will also be used by the Tennis Association of Serbia for the needs of Fed and Davis Cup national teams.

Two architectural companies competed for this project

"Mašinoprojekt" is one of the leading companies in the domain of planning and architecture. This company worked on construction of the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, the National Bank of Serbia at Slavija, as well as on development of numerous banks in Belgrade. Its clients are companies "Agrokor", "Pink", "Tarkett", "Delta holding", "Hemofarm", "Airport City", "U.S. Steel" and others.

However, there was another company that competed for this project and that was company "Colombo and Bo", which currently elaborates the project for development of future sports-business facility in Kragujevac, also for the Đoković family. This company prepared the project as well, but the company that was able to finish it in shorter time won.

Date of the tournament: May 4-10, 2009

Rank of the tournament: ATP 250 series

Base: dross

Prize fund: (approximately 398,000 EUR)

Number of players: 32

(Note: the complete text is taken from newspaper "Blic" of November 28, 2008)