Court, playground officially open at Oxford Heights CC

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This article was published 27/06/2014 (4442 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hoops hype hit Transcona on June 23.

The new outdoor basketball court at Oxford Heights Community Club (359 Dowling Ave. E) officially opened with plenty of fanfare that evening with representatives from all three levels of government in attendance. Elmwood-Transcona MP Lawrence Toet, Transcona MLA Daryl Reid, and Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) were all on hand to welcome the new court to the community.

Aside from the basketball court, which is complete with outdoor lighting, improvements to the club included a new playground with two climbing areas, slides, swings, and a teeter-totter, among other attractions.

Building new outdoor courts is, in part, an initiative of the Winnipeg Minor Basketball Association Foundation, which has already helped complete courts at Garden City, Dakota, Whyte Ridge, and Kirkfield-Westwood Community Centres.

Club president Lora Deighton was thrilled rain held off on the evening of the event, and local people were able to come down and enjoy all aspects of the centre.

“We had people playing soccer and the playground was full, and we had several basketball players come,” Deighton said. “We had lots of support from the community, so that was really good.”

With several weather-related issues hampering the project, the cold winter pushed back the installation of the Mondo rubberized surface until early June and rain kept hindering line-painting, Deighton was glad everything came together just in time.

“They actually painted the lines on Sunday (June 22). Talk about down to the wire,” she said. “It was amazing to see that all the little pieces that needed to come together for Monday night actually came together.”

Though the Mondo surface, with a life expectancy of approximately 20 years, was just recently installed, the court was open for play with an asphalt surface last fall.

“It’s busy all the time. There are people playing pick-up on the basketball court, members of the community are going to the playground, we’ve received lots of really positive feedback,” Deighton said. “We’ve had donations from the community — just random donations — and lots of support for the greenspace project.

“It’s breathed new life into the community centre.”

In addition to funding from all three levels of government and the Winnipeg Minor Basketball Association Foundation, the Transcona Playground Renewal Association also provided funding.

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