It is among ideas to "bring the Games alive" for people in the city.

 

 

Simon Starr, the director of Sport Nottinghamshire, said the Nottingham Tennis Centre had expressed its interest to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

 

He said: ''It's very early days.

 

"The LTA are only just closing the doors on Wimbledon 2009.

''The idea is there would be all the world's top tennis players here [after Wimbledon in 2012] and then there's a couple of weeks' break before the Olympic Games start.

 

"Our aim is to keep them in this country and bring them to Nottingham.''

 

Starr said the centre, which lost the Nottingham Open last year, had the facilities to stage such a contest.

 

He said: "The advantage of Nottingham Tennis Centre is it's the best grass court in the country outside of Wimbledon."

 

The centre, which has just hosted the British Open Wheelchair Championships and the Invacare World Team Cup, hopes wheelchair tennis teams from Paralympic nations will use its facilities for training.

 

Nigel Hawkins, Nottingham Council's head of business management for sport, leisure and parks, said: "We have shown an interest should an event happen.

 

"We'd like to play a part.

 

"We have also put out a brochure in terms of facilities that we have got in Nottingham for people wanting to use it as a base camp."

 

Discussions are taking place between the National Watersports Centre and several Olympic nations following its successful hosting of the European Canoe Slalom Championships.

 

Starr said: "It was a brilliant event and we have fine facilities.

 

"We got superb feedback from the countries in terms of the upgrade of the course.

 

"I'd be very surprised if we didn't get European countries wanting to use it in the run-up to the Games."

 

Cultural events designed to celebrate the Games are also being discussed, including school projects. Volunteers could be trained to bring sporting activities into the community.

 

City Council Leader Jon Collins said it was an opportunity to get people active.

 

He said: ''The whole Decade of Sport in the UK that starts with the Olympics and includes the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the 2018 World Cup [sic], gives Nottingham and Greater Nottingham a fantastic chance to promote the area and the world-class sports facilities we have.''