Coral Bay Basketball Court Slated for Repairs

 

Budding LeBron Jameses in Coral Bay soon won’t have to travel across the island to find a court where they can shoot hoops.

On the heels of the successful refurbishment of the Pine Peace basketball court, children on the eastern side of the island can look forward to the Coral Bay facility getting a face lift soon.

The decrepit Coral Bay basketball court, located on property owned by the Moravian Church next to Guy Benjamin School, has long been falling into disrepair with the bleachers unsafe to use.

Similar to the private/public partnership which drove the recent Pine Peace basketball court renovation project, renovations to the Coral Bay court will be footed by several major donors — expected to be announced this week — and a community fundraising campaign.

But even getting to this point has been taken agreement by several entities. The project is a collaboration between Coral Bay Community Council, V.I. Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation, Moravian Church officials and Rotary Club of St. John, which has agreed to handle donations, according to the group’s president Joan Bermingham.

“The donations part of the project will go through Rotary,” said Bermingham. “I’ve signed the documents saying that we would be involved in the process and we’re just waiting for final approval from the Moravian Church and the government.”

Governor John deJongh is expected to sign a Memorandum of Agreement this week allowing the private/public partnership to move forward with the local Rotary Club handling fiscal duties. Details of the scope of the court renovations and total fundraising goals should be announced this week, according to Coral Bay Community Council officials.

Local Rotary Club members, who also supported the Pine Peace basketball court renovation project, are excited to see a usable sports facility in the Coral Bay area, Bermingham explained.

“We got involved because we helped with the basketball court at Pine Peace and the court in Coral Bay is in bad shape as well,” she said. “We feel it’s important as Rotarians to help the youth in this endeavor and make sure they have a place where they can participate in healthy activities like playing on a basketball court.”

“It makes me smile every time I go by Pine Peace and see the new court and so we’re trying to help this happen out in Coral Bay,” said Bermingham.