Nelson’s newest outdoor sports facility will have its grand opening this Saturday at 2:00pm.
Four old courts were revitalized and expanded above LV Rogers High School over the summer into a brand new space with tennis, pickle ball, basketball hoops, an area for skate board ramps, and an outdoor classroom.
Keith Bridger President of the Nelson Tennis Club invites everyone to the event.
“For the opener, we plan to have kind of a surprise ribbon cutting event. There’ll be cake and coffee, there’ll be some competitions, display booths with photographs showing the evolution of the project.”
Bridger says a free play will also happen afterwards with basketball and ball hockey competitions and tennis and pickle ball.
Over 1,900 hours of volunteer time brought the project together this summer with major funding from School District Eight and the Columbia Basin Trust. LV Rogers students will have priority use of the space during school hours with the school district contributing $140,000. It’s also open to the community and is now the new home for the Nelson Tennis Club. The Columbia Basin Trust contributed $126,000 and the Regional District of Central Kootenay also provided a small amount of funding.
Bridger says although he’s already seen it humming with activity, there’s still some upgrades they’re hoping to complete next year. “We plan to finish the parking area paving and then build a washroom facility and a also an equipment storage area.” Bridger says they will be doing some fundraising for those improvements.