Tauranga YMCA is in talks with the city council about transforming the Welcome Bay tennis club into a youth centre.

Tauranga manager Calum Davie announced the YMCA's intention at a public meeting before Christmas and says further meetings with council staff were held this week.

If the tennis club closes in April, at the end of the season, the clubrooms and tennis courts revert to the Tauranga City Council.

Tauranga YMCA already operates an after-school programme from the clubrooms on Victory Street.

'Whether we take over the actual tennis club aspect of it remains to be seen,” says Callum.

'We would like to keep the tennis going, but we are not tennis people. We would need some engagement from some of the remnants of their group. It kind of remains to be seen, it's quite early days.”

City council team leader of sport and recreation Josh Trafford says nothing is going to change at the club for at least three to six months, and the future of the six courts remains undecided.

The courts are decaying and need between $80-100,000 to bring them up to club level playing standard.

'They have a relatively small junior club, no senior members and the current committee's at the end of their tether really,” says Josh. 'Nor are they prepared to work for the $100,000 to resurface the courts. With the members they have got they can't stay viable.”

The future of the courts will eventually be a council decision. Ward councillor Bill Grainger has been dealing with the club, says Josh, and council staff have also been meeting with the Selwyn Ridge School and the Welcome Bay Community Centre.

'We are all working on a solution, it just takes time,” says Josh. 'We haven't walked away from tennis in Welcome Bay at all.”

Added to the mix is the current restructuring being undertaken by the tennis ruling body Hamilton-based Waibop Tennis, and the regional facilities strategy that the five councils are currently involved in.

Waibop Tennis is expected begin paying attention to Western Bay of Plenty tennis' needs in the next few months, while the regional community facilities survey will not be ready for presentation to politicians for at least six months.

'It might not be the same club, but we are not saying there's not going to be any tennis at Welcome Bay,” says Josh.