“Today, North Bay is a basketball town.”
The new multi-use recreational courts, located behind the City bus terminal on Oak Street were officially opened Friday morning, but in reality, the community has been using the public facility for the past few months.
There is one full basketball court to play five-on-five basketball and a half court to play three-on-three basketball.
And it comes as no surprise to Michael Mitchell, President of the North Bay Spartans Youth Club, that the courts are seeing constant play.
“Not at all. Kids have been climbing fences and trying to find a place to play for a few years now and these are overdue in the City of North Bay. I’m not surprised at all that they’re used morning to night,” said Mitchell.
The North Bay Spartans is a grassroots community basketball organization that runs development programs and rep teams, offering competitive basketball programs for boys and girls from ages nine to 19 in North Bay.
“This is a place where kids can have recreational activities to work on their skills and have fun with their friends. But we are using it for development opportunities and running outdoor camps” said Mitchell.
“This summer some of our other community basketball organizations have been running camps here on these courts which the city has made available for free rentals this summer but I’m sure there will be a small charge next year.”
Hosting tournaments at the facility may be a possibility down the road.
“We could bring in three on three tournaments or outdoor tournaments on these courts in the future. I think our city tourism and recreation department will look into that,” stated Mitchell.
The courts are lit up with motion sensors so some of the older teenagers and older athletes can play much later at night.
Just as with outdoor rinks, user groups can reserve times through the City, otherwise, Mitchell says it is open to the public 24 hours a day.
“It is probably getting 16 to 18 hours of use a day,” Mitchell stated.
Fourteen-year-old Rowan Waye plays for the Spartans and this summer played in Mississauga.
“It is amazing having this because usually there are no courts available and this court is perfect because it is brand new,” said Waye.
“It is a perfect size. I can come here and practice by myself or play with other people.”
The provincial and federal governments put up the money for the actual construction of the facility.
The province kicked in just over $61-thousand, while the federal government covered the lion's share of the cost with just over $244,000 in funding for a total project cost of slightly more than $305,000. The City of North Bay provided the property and services.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says it is about having a healthy community.
“It is not always economic development, it is social development as well that is so very important,” said Fedeli.
“I think the City of North Bay did a great job in bringing this application to the Province. The Province had a very serious look at all the thousands of applications we got across the entire province and this was one of the ones that were nominated because it really made a lot of sense.”
Although unable to attend in person, Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota sent a message stating:
“It is great to see so many people already enjoying the multi-use courts in North Bay. These types of infrastructure investments are critical to ensuring that residents of Nipissing-Timiskaming can have safe and inclusive places to gather and improve their mental and physical health.”
Mayor Al McDonald expressed his thanks to the two senior levels of government and credited community organizers and the individuals who advocated for nearly eight years on behalf of the children to make this project a reality.
“It is really community driven and I think that is pretty special,” said McDonald following the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Just like Rome, this facility wasn’t built in a day.
“They never let up. It wasn’t that we were against it, we wanted to make it happen, but it took time to make it happen, so we should be celebrating its success.”
But there is still more ahead for the city’s youth.
The space behind the courts will be further developed, with the addition of a skateboard park and pump track.
A pump track is for wheeled sports equipment like bikes, featuring banked turns and loops where riders use pumping motions to gain momentum.
“So for the skateboard park and pump track, we’ve got in our budget almost one million dollars. And we put applications for grants into the province and the feds to assist us on that side of things too,” said McDonald.
Mitchell said while the young people are excited to have the basketball courts, skateboarding and BMX are also very popular.
“So the skate park and a pump track give the opportunity for kids on bicycles and scooters to also come down and enjoy their preferred recreation.”
McDonald would like to see the project started sooner rather than later.
“We’re hoping to be RFP’d (Request For Proposals) in early fall. The shovels will be in the ground in the spring. It will be the next council that gets to do the ribbon cutting, but it will still be great for our community.”