Blooming Grove Mays Field New Courts Getting Finishing Touches...Basketball Courts Ready to Go, Pickleball Imminent

New Basketball Courts at Mays Field are ready for play, the markings haven been added this past week.

It has been a very long road, but at the Tuesday Night's July 1st Town Board Meeting, Supervisor Rob Jeroloman announced that their Mays Field work is wrapping up, and the Basketball Courts are ready for play. This required three years of intensive repairs and rebuilding in fields that were plagued by flooding that did so much damage that until now all you would see would be a "pick-up" game now and then by a few guys wanting to shoot baskets. Now, the Mays Field Basketball Courts have been completely redone and they are professional grade, and ready. Both Building & Grounds workers and outside professionals have spent many months to help these 2 longtime dreams of being able to play Basketball and Pickleball right at Mays Field.

An added finishing touch is that all new giant sodium vapor LED lighting, purchased under a discount rebate grant, was added for safety and to enable play during the hours around dusk in the fall. The lights have 4 settings of brightness from low to high, which will help with cost of the electricity.

PICKLEBALL ANYONE?

In addition to the Basketball playing Courts, there are beautifully designed Pickleball Courts that are just waiting for the last coat of paint and netting, both expected to happen withhin the next 2 weeks (check the Town's Facebook Page for the "Ready to Play" Notice).

Both court types, but especially the Pickleball ones, required a lot of patience and attention to the many steps needed to prepare and paint them properly. Supervisor Jeroloman said "They first had to remove a lot of unsuitable soil, replace it, top it with subbase, then blacktop and add 50-gallon base fiberglass mesh, let it set and then add additional 50 gallons supplies of base and sand."

An entire field full of Pickleball Courts was added at Mays Field

One more coat of specialized paint and netting, finishing up the fencing and these pickleball courts will be ready for play. Estimate is 2 weeks to game time.

Pickleball's popularity has exploded in recent years. With an aging population who might struggle with the challenge of a strenuous tennis game, pickleball offers many of the same vigorous activity advantages, without as much risk of strain or fall. It also is used frequently as a practice sport for beginners who later step up to the more challenging sport of Tennis. Thirdly, it's a great mid-level challenge for families, where moms and dads can play with their kids, and it's also a great alternative for people who either have special challenges or restrictive injuries. But don't be fooled! Pickleball can tire the best of athletes, and gives players plenty of good exercise that contribute to both physical fitness and agility. But if you plan to play this Summer, be prepared to stay hydrated on these 94-96 degree temp days (some of which have had 'feels like 110 degrees' warnings). And taking even short cool-down and rest breaks can result in a lot more play time. Also, keep an eye out on the Town's FB page to note if and when a scheduling system begins. With all of these new courts, it may not be an issue. But other sites in the area have been bogged down on some days, with people waiting for an hour or 2 for their turn. If this occurs there may need to develop a sign-up list and a separate FB page for the Pickleball crowd.

In addition to the courts themselves, a lot of work was put in during the past 3 years to help prevent future flooding. Being adjacent to the Moodna Creek, that is not an easy accomplishment, but in addition to other work, and especially grading, a significant "Flood Wall" has been installed.

For convenience of the court players and guests, additional parking spaces have been added along the perimeter.

Way back when, during this past Winter, town workers were helping to save time and building funds for the project by doing much of the work "In House".