LUDLOW — Harris Brook Elementary School will be getting a new basketball court for its students and the rest of the community to use.

After trying to come up with a plan to add basketball hoops since October 2022, the site sketch has been approved by the Conservation Committee and Planning Board.

The plan is to construct a fenced in 44-foot by 74-foot asphalt blacktop that will include six basketball hoops or three basketball courts that will be located adjacent to the playground in the back of Harris Brook Elementary School.

There will also be a sidewalk built in for a single access point to the basketball court.

Chris LeBlanc from Mount Vernon Group Architects, the architecture and design firm that assisted with overseeing and designing the construction of Harris Brook Elementary School, said, “The length would be regulation for the age group; however, the Conservation Commission did have one stipulation that the court could not project any further than the play area. The schools understand that it will not be a basketball wide basketball court. We are at 44 feet by 74 feet and I believe an actual regulation court for age groups up to 11 or 12 is 50 feet by 74 feet.”

LeBlanc has talked to the staff at Harris Brook Elementary School and added that the basketball court will be designed to make sure more children can use it.

He said, “It is not going to be striped like a basketball court. We are going to place the hoops on the edges, so you have three smaller sized courts. It makes it more flexible for the kids as more groups can play. We will do the striping for various gym and recess games.”

Harris Brook Principal Nikki Reed added, “After meeting with the P.E. teachers, we thought we would do six 4-squares so kids can play 4-squares, we can have the mini games of basketball and place dots for kids to play horse. We thought this design would be better than having one basketball court because right now we have one basketball hoop and every kid wants to use it. This design allows multiple games to be happening at once.”

This new plan comes after the original design of adding three basketball hoops on the curb in a public safety traffic lane was denied due to safety and traffic concerns in October 2022.

The idea to put the hoops on the other side of Jabish Brook and pave a basketball court, but the Conservation Committee said that could not happen because it would be placed too close to the riverside and encroach the wetlands.

According to LeBlanc and Reed, the court and amenities on the site are for community use.

Building Committee Chair Michael Kelliher added, “Part of the proposal for this project is that it was a community asset, and I would say let people use it.”

Use of the court after dark will not be permitted. There are no plans to add lighting to the court.
The Building Committee approved $9,000 for MVG to do the design work with hopes that construction can start this summer when school is out and be ready for next school year.