Anyone feeling inspired by the Toronto Raptors’ magical run to the NBA Finals can soon head down to East Village to shoot some hoops at 'The Bounce.'
Work is currently underway on the urban basketball court on the corner of 4th Street and 8th Avenue Southeast, beside the National Music Centre at Studio Bell.
On top of the full basketball court, the site will also include ping-pong tables, Snakes-And-Ladders, four square and art murals.
The vacant lot was used in the past as an interim parking lot and at times was turned into a retail park with shipping containers for local businesses.
Clare LePan with the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation says the urban park is a way to repurpose an underused corner of the community.
"A three-on-three tournament can come down and use it, or an outdoor rec team or residents can come and just shoot hoops," she said. "It’s meant to be passive in that way and you can program it the way you choose to."
The project cost around $40,000 and was first thought up when the new Central Library was being built as a way to bring more people in from the popular RiverWalk.
LePan says there will be some event programming but the urban court will be free to the public.
Backboards and the basketball hoops will be installed in the coming days and the entire games park is expected to officially open the first week of June, depending on the weather.
