Forest Park Basketball Courts Open to Community Praise, Celebration
Nick Booker’s sister, Carmen, took the first shot, with brother Chris coaching her on.
Their parents and grandparents shared memories with hundreds of friends and family who turned out in tribute to Nick’s memory.
And the St. Louis community celebrated an addition to Forest Park that had already received a warm embrace in the few days since the opening of the Nicholas J. Booker Basketball Courts in Forest Park.
“These courts will give our youth more opportunities to spend time together in a safe environment – and it will introduce more of our kids to all of the wonderful culture, nature and activities that Forest Park has to offer”
The first basketball courts in Forest Park’s history officially opened on Tuesday, July 9, after a ribbon cutting with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and other St. Louis City leaders, donors and Forest Park Forever supporters. That was a day of heavy rains that forced the ceremony inside Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center, but enthusiasts immediately began enjoying the courts in the following days before the dedication events on Saturday, July 13.
To mark the milestone and showcase the many ways basketball brings people together, Forest Park Forever hosted the dedication with a daylong program of activities, food and music.
Ceremonial ribbon cutting with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and other St. Louis City leaders, Nicholas J. Booker’s family, donors and Forest Park Forever supporters inside the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center.
Spectators were treated to impressive displays of talent during games involving girls’ teams from Knights Basketball Academy and adult competitors from the Disabled Athlete Sports Association. Friends of Nick Booker enjoyed a lively first full-court match on the courts. The back-to-back-to-back-to… (we’ve almost lost count!) state champion Incarnate Word Academy team was recognized with coach Dan Rolfes.
There were free throw and three-point contests, 3-on-3 games with referees from the St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry, plus ice cream, shaved ice, hot dogs – and smiles all around.
Creating New Ways to Enjoy Forest Park
Additions to Forest Park do not happen in a vacuum; they emerge from a deliberative process outlined in the Forest Park Master Plan. The opening of two full courts and two half-courts was the culmination of years of planning by the Parks Department and Forest Park Forever, in consultation with the Forest Park Advisory Board (a group including St. Louis public officials and citizens), and following community engagement with over 2,000 St. Louisans who weighed in at open houses, through surveys and in-person interviews. Interest had swelled in recent years as many noted how basketball is an accessible sport that appeals to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities that can be played alone, with a few friends, or in a large group, as all you need is a ball—which can be checked out from the nearby Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center.
“This energy, this diversity, this community spirit . . . this is an example of the St Louis we want to see. The St Louis we deserve. The St Louis we can be proud of. We need more of this.”
Most of the sports courts and fields in Forest Park were added a century ago, led by the tennis hall of famer and St. Louis parks commissioner Dwight Davis, back when the thought of including active recreation among passive city green spaces was bold. In the 1990s and 2000s, fundraising and restoration efforts by Forest Park Forever were largely focused on restoring the infrastructure and many spaces in Forest Park that had the potential to bring people together, but had fallen into disrepair during the Park’s decline.
Over the past few years, however, in addition to the extensive daily maintenance required for a park with 15.5 million annual visitors, our nonprofit conservancy and the Parks Department have been able to collaborate on creating two new spaces – attractions that are introducing more St. Louisans to the many wonders of a restored Forest Park.
The Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape turned a little-used section of turf across from the World’s Fair Pavilion into a place of exploration that encourages children to play outside. And now the Nicholas J. Booker basketball courts, replacing an old blacktop pad and turf just north of the racquetball courts, provide another way to be active along with the runners, bikers, court sport athletes and playground explorers around the Visitor Center.
“Forest Park is one of 110 parks that we manage in the City of St. Louis. Each is different and each offers different things for St. Louisans. But one thing we know is true of every park: programs and amenities encourage kids and families to be active, they facilitate health and community.”
Vital Donor Support
As with any capital project, the support of private donors from the St. Louis community was essential. The lead gift was provided by the Eric P. & Evelyn E. Newman Foundation, of which Nick’s grandfather, Andy Newman, is a trustee. The name of the courts recognizes Nick, who loved basketball and worked in Forest Park as a teenager but died tragically in 2018 during his first semester of college after a severe asthma attack suffered while playing basketball.
Key gifts were also provided by Mary Jo Abrahamson and basketball enthusiast Larry Zarin, a New York-born marketing executive and longtime St. Louis resident who approached Forest Park Forever early in the process. Zarin helped galvanize a group of supporters he called “The Layup Line,” which both brought in gifts and advocated for the project throughout the community.
The collective vision that so many have dreamed of became reality immediately upon the courts’ opening, with players of all ages enjoying them each day.
“As we talked with the community about this project, we heard again and again that basketball brings people together, that it can bring more people to enjoy the wonder that is Forest Park. The donors who made this project possible certainly share that belief. And the many people who have come to use the courts just over the past few days show that belief is well founded.”
Visit our photo album on Facebook for more pictures of the Grand Opening Celebration on July 13.
