Cracks in the court, a broken hoop, inadequate chain netting and backboards covered in dents.
That is how Aaron Perez described the Rohr Park basketball courts prior to their restoration and subsequent re-opening to the public on April 11.
“About four months ago I sent an email to our council member and I was like, ‘please fix up the courts, there’s a bunch of cracks,’” Perez said.
The 22-year-old was out enjoying the court one day after its introduction, practicing his jump shot on the newly-paved blue surface.
“Great job on the basketball courts, we really needed them, they look amazing,” Perez said.
The new courts were the result of a four-month restoration project which reportedly cost $250,000 and was paid for by Measure P, a temporary half-cent sales tax increase that was approved by Chula Vista voters in 2016.
Measure P is projected to raise $178 million over the course of a 10-year span, with just under $17 million going toward sports fields and courts.
Prior to the refurbishing, a broken hoop left only the right side of the court available for full-court play, which led to restless ballers and confrontations, according to Perez.
“Only one side of the courts worked, so there’d be groups of guys waiting to get on and sometimes there’d be actual fights,” Perez said.
The court was in such poor shape that the Bonita resident, who said he shoots hoops three to four times a week, would skip coming to play at Chula Vista’s largest park entirely.
“I would just ignore this park sometimes and go straight to Eastlake, just because their area is a lot nicer. But now that this is fixed I’m going to come here a lot more often,” Perez said.
The Rohr Park courts are one of 38 around the city which are scheduled to be resurfaced, according to the city’s official website for tracking Measure P funds.
“I’m glad they’re using (the money) on just fixing stuff that we need and stuff that people use for sure,” Perez said. “Because this is something that people use and they need to come out and exercise and have fun.”
In addition to fixing the surface and hoops, new benches were placed around the court, as well as fresh landscaping of grass in the area.
The new courts attracted a basketball player from outside Chula Vista, an Encanto man who wanted to be identified only as Kemosabi.
“It’s a really nice facility to have a picnic, play a little basketball, one or the other or both,” he said.
