First Dutch sports field made of recycled tennis balls opens in Rotterdam

Press release
Article tags:
  • Sponsorship
  • Sustainability

The Krajicek Playground in the Kop van Noord district in Rotterdam was reopened today – at the end of Climate Week – by Leendert Vermeulen (Head of the City of Rotterdam’s Department of Sports, Nature & Recreation) and Gerlinde van Raalte (Director of Krajicek Foundation), with a sports floor made of recycled tennis balls. The renovated sports floor is a first in the Netherlands and was made possible by a donation of over 90,000 tennis balls by ABN AMRO. These balls were collected during ABN AMRO Open, as well as through more than 200 collection bins at tennis and padel clubs throughout the Netherlands. All of these used tennis balls were collected and recycled by Renewaball and will have a second life as Krajicek Playground.

Every year, more than five and a half million tennis balls are used in the Netherlands. More than 95 percent of them end up in the trash, incinerators or via a detour in nature.That is a waste, because the rubber from tennis balls is perfectly reusable. In collaboration with Krajicek Foundation, the idea was born of giving these tennis balls a new life as a sports floor on a Krajicek Playground.

ABN AMRO called on visitors to ABN AMRO Open – held annually in February in Rotterdam Ahoy – to hand in their used tennis balls in special collection bins in Ahoy. The used tournament balls were also collected and, in addition, over two hundred collection bins were placed at tennis and padel clubs throughout the Netherlands. This collection system was facilitated by ABN ARMO in co-operation with Renewaball. Renewaball was responsible for the recycling and processing of the old tennis balls. The City of Rotterdam and Krajicek Foundation funded the new sports floor, in part with the financial support of the Facilicom Foundation and Job Dura Foundation.

Accelerating a sustainable and inclusive society

ABN AMRO is committed to a sustainable and inclusive society and so encourages great initiatives like this. "This project fits well with ABN AMRO's sustainability strategy," says Sander Bestevaar, head of Sponsorship and Events at ABN AMRO. "As a bank, we want to accelerate the journey to a more sustainable and inclusive society. This initiative contributes to this and as the main sponsor of ABN AMRO Open, we are very happy to give tennis balls a new life."

Richard Krajicek, tournament director and founder of Krajicek Foundation, adds: "Next year, the fiftieth edition of ABN AMRO Open will take place. What could be better than enabling those used tennis balls to have a new life as a sports floor at the Kop van Noord Krajicek Playground. It is a beautiful and safe place where children can come and play sports and games every week, for free and carefree."

Hélène Hoogeboom, Managing Director and co-founder of Renewaball: "We are very proud that the old tennis and padel balls we have collected and sorted, and which we don't use for Renewaballs, have been given this new and sustainable purpose, thanks in part to the support of ABN AMRO. It means we are not only doing something good for the environment, but also for children for whom opportunities to play and do sports outdoors are limited".

Relevant link