The city of Wichita voted in favor of razing a number of basketball and tennis courts located throughout the city. The courts located in multiple parts of the city have not received the proper maintenance to function as a public area.

“We do have some deficient tennis courts in the system that need to be removed,” principal planner Larry Hoetmer told the City Council, which approved the demolition projects unanimously. “We also have a basketball court in Country Acres that needs to be removed as well.”

Basketball and Tennis Courts Will Be Replaced by “Green Space”

The courts will be razed. The ground underneath will be returned and seed grass will be laid in order to fill in the area. These green spaces will be used for other public functions such as dog parks.

Overall, the lack of maintenance is evident in the amount of uneven and cracked surfaces of these courts. These have drastically increased over the years. So much so that the public can no longer use them for their original function.

The courts “have not been programmed or used robustly,” says city spokeswoman Megan Lovely. “The prioritization of maintenance and limited funds, our Parks department focuses maintenance on high traffic parks.”

The potential to turn these into dog parks gives the city the idea that it could be used for more pertinent requests. The dog park comes to mind due to the nature of the area. Its small, but has a lot of space for animals to run around and the area lends itself very well for different types of terrain.

For many, this will be a rejuvenating sight as opposed to the cracked and broken scenery. As for complaints against razing the areas, not many have come to show. As for when this will happen, the court has yet to finalize it.