Council Removes 17-Year Ban on Basketball at Park

Culver City has reopened a basketball court in a park where the sport had been banned for 17 years.

The City Council closed Fox Hills Park’s four basketball courts in 1981 after neighbors complained about noise and misbehavior at the site. Some people accused the council of racism because the basketball players were primarily black and the residents predominantly white.

Although a portable hoop has been used at the park, a regulation-size hoop on a half court was reopened Monday after a group of players lobbied to bring the sport back, said Syd Kronenthal, director of human services for the city.

The hoop will be available from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays and from noon to 5 p.m. weekends. Players will be supervised by park personnel.

After a 90-day trial period, the Human Services and Park commission will evaluate response from residents and decide whether to keep the hoop open.

Meanwhile, neighborhood basketball enthusiasts are elated at the court’s reopening, he said.

“There are 1,200 kids ages 5 to 19 that live in the Fox Hills area,” Kronenthal said. ‘Kids have just flocked to it.”