That’s the way the ball bounces, at the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center.
Or rather, that’s the way the ball is going to bounce at the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center.
The multi-use facility at the Mylan Park complex is having a multimillion-dollar sports addition tacked on, with regulation courts for basketball, volleyball and other traditionally indoor pursuits. The job is set for completion by June 1.
Meanwhile, work crews were holding court Wednesday, and Cliff Sutherland was enjoying the spring in his step — courtesy of the high-tech Omnisports PurePlay surface from Tarkett, a commercial flooring company from Georgia that offers coverings from living rooms to sports arenas.
“It’s got some give to it,” Sutherland said, as he walked across its shock-absorbing surface.
“The only thing different about it is that the basketball ‘sounds’ different when you dribble — but you get used to that pretty quick.”
It won’t take very long for youth teams to get used to the big-time experience afforded by playing there, he added.
The courts will boast arena-quality scoreboards, a professional sound system and other amenities, such as backboards lighting up in red every time a basket is scored.
Five regulation-sized basketball courts are part of the project. Besides the aforementioned volleyball, other courts will be added — or can be quickly configured — for futsal, the indoor soccer game; and pickleball, the tennis, badminton and ping-pong hybrid.
“This is quality stuff,” said Sutherland, a longtime member of the Mylan Park Foundation’s board of directors.
Quality stuff, in the form of contributions of people of all walks, has long been the cornerstone of the park, which is now entering its 21st year of operation, board president Ron Justice said.
“From the beginning, this has been a community park, for the community,” Justice said.
A $5.75 million outlay from the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust is funding the bulk of the construction, along with a $1.25 million offering from Mylan Charitable Foundation.
About $400,000 in additional donations have come in from the community, Justice said.
Other elements, he said, are priceless.
Justice was also mayor of Morgantown during those early years and saw the positive ripples Mylan Park made across the business and economic landscape here.
Sporting events.
Outdoor expos.
Craft fairs.
Motorcycle rallies, car shows and concerts.
“Now we’re a destination,” he said.
Paradigm Architecture designed the addition, which is being built by Lytle Construction. It will double the size of the community center to 100,000 square feet.
The Omnisports surface is being set down by B&D Floor Covering of Rainelle.
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