SEBASTIAN – Crews are putting the finishing touches on a new covered basketball court at the Sebastian Boys and Girls Club and hope to have it ready for the children in the coming days.
But the covered court won’t be just for shooting hoops – or just for the club, either.
“We’re looking forward to using the court,” Program Director Jordan Adams said, especially during the summer.
The kids will be able to stay shaded from the hot sun, get some fresh air and work on art projects, play games or, of course, practice their lay-ups.
“They’re real excited,” Adams said of the Boys and Girls Club members.
He explained that not only will the club members be able to use the court, but the public as well – when the club isn’t open.
“We hope they do use it,” Boys and Girls Club Board Chairman Jay McNamara said of the public.
The club leases its site from the City of Sebastian, which granted permission to build the covered court last March.
The Sebastian Boys and Girls Club is the only one to have a basketball court on site. The Vero Beach club has access to the school across the street, which has courts. And the Fellsmere club has a city park nearby with courts and playgrounds.
“This will be great,” McNamara said.
He added that the $200,000 project could not have happened if not for the generous support of community sponsors, including two John’s Island families.
The Michael Pierce and Joseph Fahey families were the two major contributors to the project, McNamara said. The Sebastian Clambake Foundation also donated to the cause.
The covered basketball court is the only project the Boys and Girls Club has on the books for the Sebastian site – for now.
McNamara said that the next goal will be to expand the club’s size, but that would be a few years out.
“That’s on my wish list,” he said.
The Sebastian clubhouse was the first one built by the Boys and Girls Club and is less than half the size of the new Vero Beach clubhouse.
“We fill that club every afternoon,” McNamara said of the Sebastian location, noting that there is a consistent waiting list to get in.
Currently the site serves 400 members.
For more information about the Boys and Girls Club in Indian River County, visit www.bgcirc.org or call (772) 299-7449.