Portola Park’s refurbished basketball court is a slam dunk for the community
For point guard Simon Rojas, basketball means community.
“People gather here to have parties, to be around new people and to socialize,” Rojas said at the Portola Park basketball court in Santa Ana. “It is a really great thing for little kids and just the whole community around here.”
The ninth-grader was among the high school students playing in scrimmages at the park’s newly refurbished basketball court on April 4.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse teamed up with nonprofit Project Backboard and the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation team to refurbish the public court.
“We were presented with this opportunity to reinvest back into the community where we started our first restaurant, which is Santa Ana, California,” said Greg Levin, chief executive officer of BJ’s Restaurant. “Being able to invest in this basketball court to bring people together is something that is near and dear to our heart.”
BJ’s, which is headquartered in Santa Ana, served pizza, tri-tip and the restaurant’s signature Pizookie and handed out new basketballs at the unveiling of the court, which also included music and a Slam Dunk Showcase from the L.A. Clippers’ TNT Crew.
Inspired by the excitement of March Madness, the court received a new blacktop, nets and backboards. The court also features a bright, vibrant mural of players in pop-art style with primary colors designed by Media.Monks and Project Backboard artists. The intention is to activate the community space with art.
“It is part of the parks and recreation mission to activate all of our parks, because an activated park is a safe park,” said Tim Pagano, manager of Recreation and Community Services for the city of Santa Ana. “That is really what we are focusing on as the next steps forward for all of our 43 parks in our system.”
Project Backboard, founded in 2015 by Dan Peterson and based in Orange County, is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to renovating public basketball courts while also installing site-specific art at the spaces.
The artwork didn’t go unnoticed by Rojas.
“I really like the art, the new colors. I remember when the court was all run down,” said Rojas. “Now it looks brand new.”
Santa Ana Parks and Recreation officials said they were grateful for the opportunity to partner with Project Backboard and BJ’s to revitalize the park.
“It is a massive donation for our agency and seeing something like this come to life is very unique in the parks and recreation world,” said Cori Lantz, community engagement supervisor with Santa Ana Parks and Recreation. “We have lots of events and lots of sponsors and donors for individual events, but for something like this that is such a huge capital improvement project that brings so much vibrancy and life to the everyday park facility is huge for us. We are so thankful.”
Pagano said he hopes the Portola Park neighborhood will continue to take ownership over the space.
“We want to make sure that our residents have an experience like the one they have here today,” said Pagano. “It is a matter of inviting the community to share this space and to really make it their own.”
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