The group that created Regina’s most colourful basketball court is back at it with a three-point plan to pump even more life into the city’s basketball scene.
“We believe basketball courts have the power to activate communities and to bring people together through the avenue of basketball,” Buckets and Borders co-founder Justin Lee told Global News Monday afternoon of project Pick & Roll, which will see three courts restored in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood.
“I think for North Central in particular, this is a great and used facility that has become unkept, so it’s another opportunity to have a positive, activated space for youth and people of all ages to play the game.”
Lee said the renovations will begin in the next couple of months, with the whole project set to be completed by August or September.
First, the outdoor court at Scott Collegiate and mâmawêyatitân centre will receive new backboards and rims, new fencing and a full-court mural, the design for which will be developed collaboratively with students and staff at Scott Collegiate.
“There’s an incredibly vibrant basketball community that exists at Scott Collegiate so it’s a natural opportunity for us to work with these students,” Lee said.
“And I think it’s a great chance for them to lead something that’s right in their backyard that they’ll be able to call theirs for years to come.
The design phase is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, with a grand opening planned for June.
Once that is complete, work will focus on the restoration of the two Regent Park Courts, where the group will work with an Indigenous artist to design a mural that will stretch across brand new asphalt. The courts will also receive new backboards and rims.
Lee said the project will cost around $120,000 in total, about 85 per cent of which has already been raised by the group’s “founding partners.”
He said the remaining funds will be raised through a number of upcoming events as well as through the sale of merchandise on their website.
Lee and his brother Brendan started Buckets and Borders in 2015 as a way to document basketball courts and culture around the world.
After becoming incorporated as a non-profit in 2020, Buckets and Borders launched the Lakeview Project, which, with the help of community fundraising, saw the complete restoration of the outdoor court commonly known as “the Cage” in Lakeview.
In an effort to create “the most iconic court on the prairies,” Lee and his team installed new fencing, benches and lights, refurbished the nets at the beloved court, and covered new asphalt with an eye-catching, colourful mural.
Lee added that the ball doesn’t stop bouncing in North Central.
The group recently distributed 1,200 new basketballs to youth and communities around the province through its Ball for All initiative.
Lee said they also plan to restore more courts across Saskatchewan and, eventually, across Canada.
“Our objective as an organization is to continue to grow the game of basketball in Regina and hopefully one day across the country.”