ANYTHING that puts Bolton on the map must benefit the town as a whole.

So we welcome the television link-up which will be part of the Bolton Arena tennis and leisure complex which is being built at Middlebrook.

There are plans to go global at the complex and it will mean that Bolton sports enthusiasts will be able to have advice from the world's best coaches or even sports superstars.

And it will not be just high-flying sportsmen and women who will benefit from the system.

Importantly, it will be used by people of all abilities including local schoolchildren.

We applaud the fact that the centre is adopting the "sport for all" stance. Too often some sports - tennis is one - acquires an elitist image which is off-putting to some people.

Already there is talk of taking in children by bus from Bolton's most deprived areas. That is an excellent plan.

Also welcome is the fact that this will not be an exclusive club with expensive fees. Players will just pay when they want to use a court as they do now for council-run facilities.

The £14.8 million centre is due to open at Middlebrook in November 2000.

If, as it is expected, major tennis tournaments such as the Davis Cup, and the Commonwealth Games badminton event in 2002 are staged there, it will be a tremendous boost for Bolton.

There will also be a running track, a full-sized football pitch, four multi-use courts, an indoor health and fitness centre and a sports education theatre.

We look forward to it all.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.