World Monitor Magazine WM_November_2019_web | Page 78

SPORT
Exclusive tennis club:
trend of the year
In early autumn, Gorky Tennis Park and Mastercard presented a joint
project – the first exclusive tennis club for privileged customers. Managing
Director of Gorky Tennis Park, Sergey Mazur, spoke about its advantages
and features.
Sergey Mazur,
Managing Director,
Gorky Tennis Park
We had thoughts to launch something
similar already several years ago but
things did not reach the implementation
stage for various reasons. We firmly
decided to implement the project and,
with the support of the president of the
Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, Bulat
Utemuratov, the first closed tennis club in
Kazakhstan was created. But it was not as
simple as we imagined it.
What are the difficulties?
The fact is that, having taken up the
work, we realized that we are the first
ones not only in Kazakhstan, but we
don’t even have anyone to learn from in
Russia or in Ukraine, or anywhere else in
‘walking distance’ to give advice on such
a project. Therefore, the club was based
solely on the Western model with slight
amendments to accommodate the ‘East’.
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In short, Western practice is an open
dialogue between members of the club
and its owners. Club customers know what
their membership fee is made up of and
what it pays for - repair, new equipment
or new courts, etc. As for us, Gorky Tennis
Park has a certain mission, which is
reflected in the official name of the club
– Tennis Development Fund LLP. All our
profits go exactly to this. Children's tennis
is a priority, in which we invest significant
effort and money. In addition, the best
commercial and rating tournaments for
amateurs are often played on our courts.
We strive to break stereotypes and make
tennis the most popular and affordable
sport. That is why our membership fee
meets three important criteria: it is fair,
transparent and marketable. In fact, this
is approximately the same amount that