Palmerston North's Fly Palmy Arena has transformed into a tennis venue. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Palmerston North tennis fans will this weekend get served international action for the first time, and they're making the most of it.
The city's main indoor stadium will be packed as New Zealand takes on Luxembourg in the Davis Cup, on a new black surface Tennis NZ has netted from Australia.
And the Davis Cup team's made its presence felt in the city, visiting schools such as College Street Normal, where the pupils got a chance to volley with their heroes and quiz them on everything from their toughest opponents to best dance moves.
Teacher Caleb Young said about 60 children there played tennis, and they were buzzing ahead of the visit.
The school even made a centre court, setting up seats for spectators to watch the national team.
Palmerston North primary school College Street Normal hosted the Davis Cup team this week. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
For New Zealand team captain Artem Sitak, it was all part of making the most of their time in the city.
"We love it here. I've never been here. I don't know if any of our boys have been here, but we really like it. The stadium looks amazing. That black court looks great.
"We have a really good feeling on it and hopefully we can bring that electricity, the heat - a lot of people watching, they're going to be behind us, and we're going to get the win this weekend."
Artem Sitek says the New Zealand team has scouted its opponents ahead of this weekend's clash. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
New Zealand outranks Luxembourg, its group 2 opponent in the Davis Cup, but the visitors include Chris Rodesch, who arrives hot on the back of tournament wins.
Sitak said the New Zealanders had thoroughly scouted their opponents ahead of their clash on Tennis NZ's new black portable court. Imported from Melbourne, it is in use for the first time.
"I really like that black court at the stadium in Palmerston North. I hope we get the win here and come back here."
That's a possibility.
Invercargill and New Plymouth have hosted Davis Cup ties, and Tennis NZ's tournament and events manager Mark Atkins said the organisation loved taking the sport to the regions.
"One of the reasons we looked at Palmerston North is due to our players coming from the likes of Taranaki, Hawke's Bay and Wellington, and the melting pot of that is Palmerston North.
"[We're] happy to be here and it's an awesome facility, so we're excited and looking forward to the tennis."
One man in the virtual sell-out crowd will have a unique insight into what is happening on court, over the doubles and singles clashes.
Victor Romero will be watching this weekend. He fondly recalls playing in the Davis Cup for Mexico. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Victor Romero is now a Palmerston North resident, but he represented Mexico in the Davis Cup in the early 2000s and said the memories were still fresh.
"To me it is special because you get to wear your country's shirt. There's nothing more important than that to me," he said.
"Granted, there's a lot of money in tennis at the high levels, but wearing that shirt means the world to most people, so I think that counts for something. And it still brings the people to the courts."
John Lynch says assembling the tennis surface was like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
City council facilities and events manager John Lynch said the Fly Palmy Arena had transformed into a tennis venue, with about 1500 seats and more than 30 corporate tables.
"I believe this is the first time the Davis Cup has been played on a black floor...
"We're here supporting New Zealand, with the black court and the white lines."
It took about four days to put in place.
"The tennis court is probably something like 160 different jigsaw pieces that get foam laid underneath on top of our existing sports floor.
"The jigsaw goes on top. It gets all held together through a whole series of latches then we get out there and give it a paint."
