Basketball and tennis courts in City of Asheville parks are getting a new look, alongside much-needed maintenance that will help preserve them for future play.
Already, tennis courts at Weaver, Montford and Malvern Hills parks have been resurfaced and painted in the same blue and green seen on U.S. Open courts and treated with an acrylic top coat that will prevent cracks from forming. Likewise, the basketball courts and roller hockey rink at Carrier Park have also been resurfaced. Within the next few weeks, Weaver and Montford parks will see their basketball courts resurfaced and basketball goals replaced with new hardware.
Superintendent of Parks Kathy Connor says the work is being done prior to winter so that the courts can be ready for use in the spring, a time when the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department has plenty to do to get other facilities prepared for visitors. “We have 30 ballfields to get ready, 54 parks, restrooms and picnic tables,” Connor says. “It’s easier when we can do some of the big projects in the fall.”
This is the first time in several years that the department has had the funding to recondition the court surfaces, meaning each court had a certain level of maintenance needs. The $47,667 in capital improvement funds used for the rehabilitation comes from money allocated for just such projects outside the city’s normal operating funds, Connor says. CIP funds are used to make sure that scheduled maintenance is performed to extend the life of facilities because, in most cases, replacement of facilities would cost much more. “We’ve got quite a bit going on,” Connor says.
The court resurfacing is one part of a larger group of improvements the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department has performed in recent months that also includes roof repairs at Burton Street Recreation Center and roof and plumbing repairs to the restroom facilities at Magnolia Park, which will be able to open in April 2011. Roof repairs are also in the works for Stephens Lee Recreation Center.
Click here for more information on facilities within the City of Asheville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department.