The largest basketball court restoration for Milwaukee County Parks in decades will continue in 2023
A group of funders, which includes the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation, announced Monday that the first phase of its basketball restoration project has been completed and the second phase will begin in 2023.
As of earlier this year, the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation, Colectivo Coffee, Milwaukee Parks Foundation and Chris and Jennifer Abele have restored 22 basketball courts in 11 Milwaukee County Parks.
The project is the largest basketball court restoration project in Milwaukee County in at least two decades, a parks department spokesperson confirmed.
The courts were chose based on maintenance needs, along with courts that ranked higher on Milwaukee County's racial equity index "to ensure the greatest equity impact possible," according to a Bucks news release.
The parks department's racial equity index is part of an annual report presented to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors by the executive director of Milwaukee County Parks. It ranks the county's parks using a number of factors, including data on income, at-risk population, demographics, access to health care and crime.
To help fund the projects, the Bucks and Colectivo partnered to create the Bucks in 6 Blend Coffee. The Bucks Foundation received a donation of $1 per bag sold, which amounted to $26,000.
Then, former Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and his wife Jennifer matched the donation, bringing the total over $50,000.
"Milwaukee Parks Foundation is excited about the investment from the Milwaukee Bucks, Colectivo and Chris and Jennifer Abele, dedicated to one of the most well-loved amenities in our Milwaukee County Parks system: basketball courts,” said Milwaukee Parks Foundation executive director Rebecca Stoner.
“This investment ensures that all of us have access to improved spaces to come together in a healthy way, especially in parks that have seen historic disinvestment.”
As part of the project, the group also replaced the bleachers at the Dr. King Community Center in King Park. The full list of parks and number of courts repainted at each park are below:
King Park – two full courts
Kosciuszko Park – one half court
Madison Park – two full courts
Atkinson Triangle Park – two full courts
Carver Park – two full courts
Zablocki Park – one full court
Berrien Park – two half courts
Mitchell Park – four half courts
Doyne Park – one full court, two half courts
Holler Park – one full court
Popuch Park – two half courts
The group repainted the courts, added new nets and painted a "Bucks in 6" image on the court. The second phase of the project, when more courts will be restored, is set to resume in spring 2023.
Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County undergoing largest basketball court restoration
