Bye-Bye Basketball: Town Removes Developer’s Hoops
Plenty of space to dribble, but nowhere to shoot: The Town of Cape Charles removed the hoops and backboards Thursday from what had been the Town’s only outdoor basketball court. The school building on the right also contains a basketball court, but the Town closed it in 2006. (Wave photo)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
December 28, 2012
When the Cape Charles town maintenance staff returned to work Thursday following a 3-day Christmas holiday, their first job was to dismantle the basketball court at Central Park. That was accomplished by removing the backboards and hoops. Only the uprights remain.
The work by Town employees was not performed on Town property. Exactly one week earlier, Mayor Dora Sullivan signed over the park basketball court, the playground parking lot, and the old Cape Charles school to Echelon Resources, Inc., a private development firm.
According to nearby residents who watched the hoops being removed, it was a poignant sight. A young boy who lives up the street was shooting baskets, as he does almost every day, when the work began. When one goal was taken away, he moved to another, and then another. When time came to remove the last hoop he took a final shot, and went away with the distinction of being the last player ever to shoot a basket on the Town court.
No other basketball court exists either in the Town or anywhere nearby.
Since Echelon now owns the property, the question arises why Town employees were used to dismantle the basketball court. According to Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek, the Town did not want to represent that the park basketball court was available for use by the public. He feared that if someone were injured on the court, the Town could be sued, even though it no longer owns the court.
Panek told the WAVE that the Town has retained the backboards and hoops in storage.
Under the terms of the sales contract, the equipment belongs to Echelon.
Panek confirmed that no plans exist to build a new basketball court. “Talk to Town Council” — it’s their decision, he said. [Read more…]
