The outdoor basketball and tennis courts at Whitecliff are scheduled for a major refresh. The Board of Aldermen approved a contract with McConnell and Associates to resurface the tennis courts and to completely remove and install a new basketball court. McConnell and Associates is a St. Louis based company who specializes in outdoor basketball and tennis courts.
The courts were originally installed back in 2002 and are thus 20 years old. The tennis courts are constructed with a “post tension” system that includes special cables embedded in the concrete which are stretched such that they hold the surface together. Expected lifetime for such a court is about 40-50 years. They are in great shape and only need minor crack repairs and resurfacing.
The basketball court is another story. It was not constructed with the same post-tension method and the difference is clear. This court probably should have been replaced 5 years ago and has large deep cracks running the length of the court. The cost to completely replace this court is about 5 times as much as the resurfacing of the tennis courts (which are much larger).
The new basketball court will be installed with the post-tension cable system so it should last much longer than the existing court. New fencing and two new basketball goals will also be installed. No timeframe for construction has been set yet, but I would expect to see progress by late summer or fall of this year.