“It’s a very sad court. It’s time to show it some love,” says Kidd Springs Central president
Kidd Springs Central basketball court before the renovations. Photo courtesy of Chad West.
The Kidd Springs Park basketball court is about to get a much-needed makeover.
As part of a partnership with ESPN and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation called the Home Court Program, the Kidd Springs Park basketball court will be getting $36,000 for renovations, with half the money coming from ESPN and half from private donations collected by the Dallas Parks Foundation.
City Councilman Chad West wrote in a Facebook post, “CONGRATS to the neighbors who led the charge on advocating for, raising matching funds for, and ultimately winning the ESPN grant for improvements to Kidd Springs Park basketball court!”
CONGRATS to the neighbors who led the charge on advocating for, raising matching funds for, and ultimately winning the...
Posted by Chad West on Wednesday, January 27, 2021
The grant funds will be used to install bleachers, a concrete pad and benches for the players with the hopes to have enough cash leftover to also install a drinking fountain, said Augustine Jalomo, president of Kidd Springs Central a community organization that connects residents interested in preserving Kidd Spring Park. The group collaborated with JR Huerta, executive director of Dallas Youth Sports, about renovating the court.
“We started this in April of last year,” Jalomo says. “[Huerta] had done a lot of work with Kidd Springs Rec Center and set up some programs, so we got together with him. We needed to raise money because it’s a matching grant, and by the end we raised a little over $18,000 from our organization, other organizations in the community and private donors.”
From there, the group worked with Constance McLouth, the grants manager of the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, to submit a proposal to the Home Court Program. After months of waiting and sending updates, the proposal was approved.
“In the 12 years that our group has been focusing on the park, we’ve been checking off things on our wish list, so it’s great to check one more thing off our list,” Jalomo says. “If you look at it, it’s a very sad court. It’s time to show it some love.”
Donations are still accepted for the basketball court renovations on the Dallas Park Foundation’s website. Kidd Springs Central has helped renovate several parts of park, including the pool, butterfly garden and Japanese-style garden. Jalomo says their next focus is adding shade structures to the playground equipment near Cedar Hill Avenue. He says people can donate to that cause on the Dallas Park Foundation’s website and specify the designation in a note.
