Popular sports court at Glasgow park to be completely revamped

Victoria Park, based in the West of the city, will see the refurbishment of its basketball and netball court in a project led by The Glasgow Netball Association and Victoria Park Community Trust.

The court will be extended with a proper path put in to allow people to efficiently access the space, especially those from local wheelchair basketball clubs, and some spectator seating will be added in if possible. The court will also be free to use.   

It comes after the basketball hoops recently suffered bad damage and poor fencing was spotted around the space. 

(Image: Sarah Gandon with Karen Carruth from Scottish Warriors Women’s Wheelchair Basketball group. Pictures)

Sarah Gandon, project lead at Glasgow Netball Association, said: “I think once the space is refurbished it will be so busy. 

“Basketball in the city is really popular, and the Victoria Park outdoor courts are legendary for playing the game. 

“We want to keep the court free for all too.”

This follows several tennis courts being erected on the court last year which shortened the basketball and netball playing space and saw the courts become part of a pay-to-play scheme. 

Sarah claims that the changes essentially wiped out the netball court. 

She added that suddenly having to pay to play sports became a rather emotional development within the community. 

(Image: Sarah Gandon with Karen Carruth from Scottish Warriors Women’s Wheelchair Basketball group. Pictures)

The Glasgow Netball Association and Victoria Park Community Trust hope the new re-developments will make playing sport free and more accessible for visitors again. 

The court will accommodate various activities including cycle skills, roller skating, skateboarding and even community events. It can also be used by other groups such as Junior Parkrun for warmups and local children’s cycling groups for a space to learn. 

(Image: Sarah Gandon with Karen Carruth from Scottish Warriors Women’s Wheelchair Basketball group. Pictures)

The project has so far secured funding for netball and basketball posts which came, as well as £13,000 from various means to contribute to the overall refurbishment. 

Some big names contributed to the £13,000 including Emily Nicholl (Scottish netball player) and Claire Maxwell (Captained Scotland at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup).

Sarah is also looking to apply for a few more funding grants such as the Sports Scotland Fund and the Landfill Fund – which you can apply for if a community project is within a certain distance of a landfill.

The groups will be hosting a family fun day on June 8 at the Victoria Park court in a bid to secure more funding for the project. 

(Image: Sarah Gandon with Karen Carruth from Scottish Warriors Women’s Wheelchair Basketball group. Pictures)

Local kids have also been encouraged to come along on June 8 to give their thoughts on how the space should be designed. Kids will be given coloured pencils and paper to draw what they want the space to look like and feature. 

Any businesses who wish to donate materials or sponsor the project, or if you just want to donate some funds, click HERE 

The space will be maintained by Glasgow Life.