Tower Grove Park continues to evolve and improve.
The latest addition being two handsome basketball courts.
The new courts are on the south side of the park, nearest Arsenal and Bent Avenue, just southeast of the Turkish Pavilion, which was also recently renovated and updated.
The new courts officially opened with a ribbon cutting on October 20, 2023.
The park had basketball courts dating back to 1902. However, maintenance was deferred and they were eventually removed. There were likely racial undertones that added to their removal. But, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported it was a lack of money that was the final demise of the courts in the 1980s.
The fact remains that those who live around the park today and care enough to participate in community surveys and meetings voted basketball courts near the top of the priority list in the park masterplan, right under bathrooms. So, it’s a good sign that the times have changed when it comes to basketball and the perception or fear of Black males shooting hoops. Time marches on, hopefully toward the better and more equitable future for St. Louis.
Basketball courts are extremely expensive for a city the size of St. Louis, I know this having led the construction of one in Fox Park with then alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett. The result of these new courts are a collaboration between Tower Grove Park, the Department of the Interior - National Park Service and administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Hopefully basketball is here to stay in Tower Grove Park. And the final look and feel of the space is fantastic, complete and best of all, not cheap looking.
The courts and landscape were designed by a suburban firm SWT.
They did a great job with the surrounding space.
If you are arriving by car, you can park on the street, by bike, there are new racks to lock up. And if you are arriving on foot from the Tower Grove South Neighborhood, there is a newly poured path from Bent Avenue leading you straight to the courts.
New turf was installed around the courts, and they are flanked with intelligent runoff swales on the south sides of the courts to divert rainwater and provide natural landscape interest, all likely recommendations or requirements to get the Federal funds to comply with the Land & Water Conservation Fund.
The rain capture spaces extend north with natural landscape including trees and small plantings. So far, these areas are being respected and not trampled. This design is handsome and welcoming combining the hardscape of the courts with a natural buffer that blends in with the larger park.
Notice the stone wall capped with concrete allowing seats for those watching the action from the sides. A water fountain was installed, with one of the water bottle fillers. There is also a message box for organized events and notifications.
I love the fact the courts are not surrounded by hurricane fence, allowing the courts to blend with the vast green space. My only hope for the future is they install more permanent trash cans.
The courts themselves are set up for full play, but obviously available for 4 half-court spaces. The bright blue paint is eye catching and the pavilion insignia is a nice touch.
Well done Tower Grove Park! This kind of local, state and federal collaboration is time consuming, expensive and onerous. But, the people spoke, and the park delivered and basketball is back in one of our best parks after a 40 year absence.
Thanks to all the hard working folks making St. Louis one of the best Midwestern cities in the U.S.
