Tennis could soon be a winter sport in Central Park.
Bubbles would be inflated over 26 courts on the Upper West Side during cold-weather months under a contract the city is negotiating, officials said.
A private contractor would then maintain the public courts and rent them out at rates considerably higher than the warm-weather cost.
A season pass at city courts is $100 from March through November. The winter rates could run as high as 10 times that, according to a request for proposals.
Hourly rentals typically run between $28 and $56 at other bubbled courts in city parks.
The operation of the winter courts would cost the city nothing, officials said.
At a recent community board meeting, some residents complained that the city was putting tennis out of reach for less affluent New Yorkers.
Parks officials disagree, noting that the courts are currently not used at all during the winter.
Only the clay courts would be covered. At least four of the hard courts are usable year round.
“Erecting a bubble over Central Park’s clay tennis courts during the winter months will not impact the summer tennis season,” a Parks spokeswoman said.
“With a bubble over the clay courts, hundreds more can play and youth programs can be extended and enhanced,” she added.
The company hired to operate the courts may also build a temporary indoor clubhouse, which could include bathrooms and showers.
Parks officials are also considering a proposal to provide golf-cart shuttle services from Central Park South to the courts, which are located between 94th and 96th streets.
But such a service is currently not part of the contract, the spokeswoman said.
The city already has similar contracts at the Parade Ground in Prospect Park and at Cunningham Park in Queens.
The bubbled courts can remain open until as late as 11 p.m.