A four-week renovation drive is transforming the Highlands Sports Club Pavilion from a dated, well-worn gathering space into a bright, modern facility, with organisers reporting steady progress and renewing their call for community support before the fundraising campaign closes at the end of July.

Highlands Sports Club, based on Glen Esk Road in Highlands, Harare, has long been one of Zimbabwe’s best-known sporting communities, offering tennis, squash, bowls and social play alongside coaching and junior programmes. Its Hall of Honour traces the club’s history back to the 1950s and includes tennis Grand Slam champions Byron, Wayne and Cara Black among its celebrated alumni. It is this legacy the club is now building on through the Pavilion Project, a new Members’ Tennis Pavilion and a full renovation of the existing Bowls Pavilion.

Thanks to sponsorship from Zimre Holdings Limited, the club has already secured funding for the structural construction, external finishes and décor of the new tennis pavilion. A three-month public fundraising campaign, running from 1 May to 31 July 2026, is now seeking the remaining US$20 000 needed to complete both spaces with interior furnishings and sports televisions. Donors contributing at Gold, Silver or Bronze tiers will be permanently recognised on maroon-and-gold Wall of Thanks displays installed in each pavilion, as well as on a digital wall hosted on the club’s website.

Photographs charting the project’s evolution show a dramatic shift from the pavilion’s original condition, when green-barred security grilles, worn stone benches and ageing furniture characterised the space, to a light-filled, open-plan venue fitted with new timber trusses, sliding glass doors and fresh seating. The first week of work focused on breaking ground around the existing courtyard, while an adjoining room furnished with round tables and bookshelves was stripped back to its bare trusses and flooring.

By the second week, attention had turned to the exterior walls and an ageing bank of lockers, making way for rewiring and new brickwork. Week three brought the installation of a substantial timber pergola replacing the original narrow roof overhang, and by week four the once shadowed veranda had been reborn as an airy dining and gathering space.

Organisers have described the renovation as a testament to what collective community support can achieve, and are appealing for continued donations to help complete the remaining work before the campaign deadline.