Delays to basketball hoop repairs
Replacing the vandalised backboards at basketball courts in Kerikeri and Kaikohe has not been as easy as hoped, but solutions will be in place by the end of June.
The new basketball court constructed as part of the Kerikeri Domain Revitalisation Project has been without a hoop for several months after the backboard was destroyed by vandals around February this year. A similar situation has unfolded at the basketball court in Kaikohe.
The Kerikeri Domain project received $3 million from the government’s COVID Response and Recovery Fund and included the construction of a new playground, a completely redesigned skate park, and the addition of a new full-size basketball court to the central Kerikeri greenspace. The basketball court was completed in February 2022.
While vandals destroyed the glass backboard at both sites, the metal hoops were salvaged by council contractors. Unfortunately, replacing the backboards has not been as easy as first hoped. The best long-term solution is to use damage-resistant glass, which has been ordered by council staff. However, supply chain issues have significantly delayed delivery of these replacement backboards and suppliers have been unable to confirm when they will arrive.
The potential for the replacement glass to arrive at any time has complicated finding temporary solutions – the council must balance the need for repairs against the risk of unnecessarily spending ratepayer funds on an alternative and possibly short-lived solution. Options include fabricating a Perspex backboard or using plywood as alternatives to glass.
Despite that uncertainty, the council is determined players will again be able to use the popular facilities at Kerikeri Domain and Kaikohe by the end of June. If a new glass backboard has not arrived by then – and no other solution is found – plywood backboards will be installed as a temporary measure.
Main photo - the vandalised basketball backboard at Kerikeri Domain awaiting the delivery of damage-resistant glass.
Below - the remaining basketball hoop at Kerikeri Domain is still in regular use.
