Interior improvements to the city of Sweet Home’s racquetball court were completed in mid-August.
Among them were replacing the rubber floor with wood, painting the walls and painting the benches in the waiting area, said Troy Hazelton, who is responsible for parks maintenance. He is busy right now painting the exterior of the court in shades of brown.
“Hopefully, sometime in the future, we’ll get the observation deck done.”
Plans are to clean and open the area, he said.
The observation deck was closed because of vandalism. Since then, the city has installed a card lock system on the entrance.
A membership is required to get in, he said.
“Your names are on them. All our members are pretty much racquetball players.”
The racquetball court has been like an open secret for some time.
“I played in this one when I was a teenager,” Hazelton said. “But I forgot it existed.”
The court is located at Northside Park next to the city’s tennis court.
Bridget Schaffer’s family purchased a membership last year after realizing the court is there.
Schaffer praised the city’s work on the court.
“It’s so nice,” she said. “We’re pretty stoked about it. It’s clean. It’s fresh paint. The floor is terrific.”
She played twice on the old floor, a rubber material that was coming apart, she said.
The old floor had dead tiles that would stop the ball from bouncing.
Her son and his friend were busy playing their own low-speed version of racquetball on the new floor Friday.
“It’s pretty flat,” said Isaac Schaffer. “There’s no holes in it.”
“It bounces like a bouncy ball,” said Ethan Chiaffino.
Court membership is up to 29 people from 16 earlier this year, said Planning Assistant Edene Flierl.
Prices for memberships are $50 for an individual and $75 for a household in the city. For residents outside the city, individual memberships are $75, and family memberships are $112.50.