Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club

{{Short description|Tennis complex in Eastbourne, United Kingdom}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox venue | name = Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club<ref>{{cite web|title=Venues: Where to Play|url=https://www.lta.org.uk/play/venues/venue-details/?externalId=1-14H-950|website=lta.org.uk|publisher=Lawn Tennis Association of Great Britain|access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> | nickname = ''the club where sport and sociability walk hand in hand'' | image = 220px | fullname = | location = Eastbourne, United Kingdom | coordinates = {{coord|50.763686|0.283204|display=it|type:landmark}} | broke_ground = | built = | opened = 1881<ref>{{cite web|title=Devonshire Park: History|url=http://www.eastbourne.gov.uk/residents/leisure-and-events/parks/devonshire/|website=eastbourne.gov.uk|publisher=Eastbourne Council Local Authority|access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> | renovated = | expanded = | closed = | demolished = | owner = | operator = | surface = grass | construction_cost = | architect = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | general_contractor = | project_manager = | main_contractors = | former_names = | tenants = {{infobox stadium/tenantlist | tenant_clubs = Devonshire Park F.C. Fed Cup Eastbourne International (WTA/ATP) | tenant_years = 1881–1886 1977 (present) | seating_capacity = 8,000 (Tennis) | dimensions = | scoreboard = }} }}

The '''Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club'''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Clarke|first1=James|title=How has Eastbourne become a major part of the tennis calendar?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-27585339|work=BBC News|date=16 June 2014|access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> is a tennis complex in Eastbourne, United Kingdom. The complex is the host of the annual ATP and WTA Tour tournament called the Eastbourne International.<ref name=upgrade>{{cite web|title=Aegon International: LTA & council announce £44m Eastbourne revamp|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/36577498|work=BBC Sport|date=20 June 2016|access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> The stadium court has a capacity of 8,000 people. The Devonshire Park, originally intended as a cricket ground, opened its gates to the public on 1 July 1874 and in 1879, the first tennis courts was marked out<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=Kevin|title=Eastbourne Through Time|date=2013|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=9781445628042|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zmiIAwAAQBAJ&q=Devonshire+Park+Lawn+Tennis+Club+founded+in+1881&pg=PT175|access-date=15 October 2016|language=en}}</ref> on its lawns. In 1877 the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club set about regularising the laws of lawn tennis and produced its first tournament at Wimbledon running from July 9–16 of that year. In 1881 the club staged the inaugural South of England Championships, the event was played annually for 136 years until 1972.

In June 2016 the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the Eastbourne council announced a £44m project to upgrade the park including a show court and new practice courts.<ref name=upgrade/>

==Other uses== ===Football=== In 1881, Devonshire Park Football Club, now known as Eastbourne Town first played here on 26 October 1881, having failed to secure a site near to Guildredge Park, the Devonshire Park company agreed the club to use the facilities alongside the cricket club and the tennis.<ref name="Eastbourne Football Club 1881">{{cite news |title=Eastbourne Football Club 1881 |author=unknown |newspaper=Eastbourne Chronicle |date=22 October 1881 |page=5}}</ref> This agreement lasted until 1886 when the tennis became more prominent and the club relocated to The Saffrons nearby.

== Gallery == <gallery>

File:Devonshire Park, Eastbourne (47979534176).jpg|Devonshire Park in May 2019 File:Devonshire Park Tennis Court - geograph.org.uk - 147300.jpg|Centre court in April 2006 File:2014 Aegon International 063 (14250345367).jpg|Crowd at Devonshire Park during the 2014 Aegon International File:Devonshire Park in September 2021.jpg|Devonshire Park in September 2021 </gallery>

==External links== *[http://www.devonshireparkltc.co.uk/ Official site]

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

Roller Skates and Rackets: EBC 1999

{{s-start}} {{succession box | title=Fed Cup Final Venue | before=Spectrum Philadelphia | after=Kooyong Stadium Melbourne | years='''1977''' }} {{s-end}}

Category:Tennis venues in England Category:Sport in Eastbourne Category:Tennis clubs in the United Kingdom