Renovate and Reinvigorate: Wests Entertainment Group Elevates Tamworth Venues

The Wests Entertainment Group in Tamworth consists of three registered clubs — West Tamworth League Club, Wests Diggers and The Courts @ East — as well as a national level sports stadium, the Scully Park Regional Sporting Precinct, and a four-star hotel, the Mercure Hotel Tamworth. 

Currently, the Group is mid-way through the redevelopment of West Tamworth League Club and The Courts @ East, with both set to showcase state-of-the-art design features, delivering a premium offering for our members and guests.  

Located in the heart of East Tamworth, The Courts is one of Australia’s most historic sporting clubs — the home of tennis in Tamworth for over 100 years. The Northwest Tennis Academy operates out of the premises and provides a range of services including coaching, comps and a pro shop, as well as social competitions, social tennis and court hire. 

The Courts @ East redevelopment project is funded by the three tiers of government and the Wests Entertainment Group and will include 13 full-sized courts under lights, a brand-new tennis pro shop and a modern Club that will include a bar, café and dining. Our Group is committing $5.2 million to the Club’s upgrades and embracing the family friendly nature of the facility. Our service delivery will not include gaming. The reopening is set to take place in quarter three of 2024 — you can watch the earlier stages of construction here.  

In addition to this, during May our Group commenced stage one of the West Tamworth League Club redevelopment. Upon completion, the Club will feature premium facilities across reception, gaming, food and beverage, outdoor entertaining and other amenities. Further to this, a new roof will be added to the building and a small extension will see one of our function rooms transition into a new steakhouse, Smoky’s Bar & Grill. 

Paynter Dixon, our appointed construction services partner, have been engaged and working with the Club across the design and planning of the redevelopment. Stage one has commenced, costing $15.5 million and will cover the Porte Cochere, reception, bottle shop, TAB, gaming and management offices.  

This work will see the entry and reception move temporarily, Legends Lounge and The Terrace will become the new indoor/alfresco gaming areas, and the management offices will move to various other areas within our buildings. Naturally, given the total dollar investment, the project is large in scale and management have been working with Paynter to ensure that planning for the 2025 Tamworth Country Music Festival can proceed, and our venue will still feature a number of shows across the TCMF window. 

We are planning on stages two and three commencing in quarter two of 2025, with Banjo’s Family Restaurant, Nero’s Café, the Legends Bar & Lounge, and the Blazes showroom all being brought into the modern era. Extensions to the outdoor Terrace will complete the redevelopment, linking nicely with the Mercure Tamworth.

There has been much anticipation in our community and we’ve been so appreciative of the patience shown as we plan for the upgrades. We’re tremendously excited to welcome our members and guests into these exciting new venues over the coming weeks and months, celebrating all things good about clubs and community.