A few weeks ago, a basketball court that had seen better days stood, weathered, in Schilling Park in SE Oklahoma City. On Wednesday, residents of the local Oklahoma City community saw something quite different – a splendid, shiny Thunder-themed basketball court for children and neighborhood residents to enjoy.
Along with the help of KIA Motors and the Oklahoma City Parks Department, Schilling Park is the home of the sixth refurbished basketball court that the Thunder has unveiled in the Oklahoma City area. The organization has plans to unveil three more, all in Moore at the schools impacted by the May 2013 tornado.
On Wednesday, community leaders and representatives from the Thunder, KIA and city helped cut the ribbon on the new project, while children from the neighborhood had the opportunity to test out the new court right away.
“We’re happy that this is a neighborhood court and a community court that kids from all around the neighborhood and families can play at,” said Christine Berney, Thunder Director of Community Relations. “Anybody can get to the court. It’s not fenced off. We asked the Parks and Rec to help us with the process of finding courts that need a little love. Working with KIA, we decided which one makes the most sense and we started Thundering it Up!”
With the Thunder Drummers playing in the background, the children had the chance to show off their skills in front of some special guests. Thunder players Steven Adams and Andre Roberson and members of the Thunder Girls facilitated the shooting, dribbling and passing taking place all over the Thunder blue court. Seeing kids who previous didn’t have a furbished court get the chance to let loose brought a wide smile to Adams and Roberson’s faces.
“It means a lot to give back to the community and to bring the love and the game into the community is great,” Roberson said. “Not a lot of kids have their own basketball goal, so they have somewhere to come to.”
“That’s just huge for the community, especially for these kids,” Adams said. “Something like this will definitely go a long way, so this is huge. This is flashy. This is a quality court right here. I couldn’t imagine it as a kid. You always feel a certain way giving this to kids and letting them experience it.”
While Adams, Roberson, the Thunder Girls and the kids were busy breaking a sweat on the court, everyone else involved in the project simply got to stand back and admire the way it changed the dynamic of Schilling Park. Christopher Hamilton, Recreation Manager of the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department, was ecstatic to see the city’s partnership with the Thunder produce such a nice addition to the neighborhood.
“It’s amazing what the Thunder Cares program does for Oklahoma City,” Hamilton said. “The condition of this basketball court wasn’t very good. As you can see, it’s beautiful and amazing and a breath of fresh air. The kids will really take advantage of it.”
Becoming united with the Oklahoma City community means digging roots, or in this case, planting concrete, into its neighborhoods. For the Thunder, it also means using the partners it has in the city and around Oklahoma to work together to improve lives for the state’s citizens.
One of those partners is KIA Motors, who sponsored the court refurbishment and has been integral throughout the process. Just like everyone in the park on Wednesday, KIA Motors America’s District Sales Manager Jesse Herrera was in awe of the impact this addition to the community had right off the bat.
“It definitely exceeded expectations,” said Herrera. “I knew it was going to be a great event, just seeing the kids and the smiles on their faces with the basketballs and having lots of fun.”