Court Updates

A core mission of the MHA is to help maintain the public courts that we have in our state. 

Belle Isle

Unfortunately, two years ago the State of Michigan, who took over the management of Belle Isle, determined the roof was unstable and unsafe for play.  We have been in contact with the appropriate staff at the Michigan DNR and we are working with them to save the roof and return the courts to play.  Their initial decision was to remove the roof and restore the courts with no roof.  

With help of Ted Grammatico and others we brought in our own engineer who developed plans to repair the roof at a reasonable cost.  The state just completed reviewing these plans and determined the repairs would not ensure proper safety and thus rejected the proposal.  They did get an estimate from the State’s approved construction group that they could do new roofs for $350,000.   That is far beyond the state’s willingness to fund and our ability to fund raise. 

Where it stands now is that we have a conference call with the DNR to explore the options to restore the courts.  We hare hoping our engineer and their engineer will both be on the call.  The state engineer rejected the roof repair solution since they could not guarantee the safety of the walls/courts after this type of repair.   

We are not optimistic on reversing the decision but it is worth one final shot.  We will let them know that the funds we raised were to be donated based on getting the courts playable with a roof.  We will provide further updates after this call.  

St. Clair Shores

The main area of concern for maintenance at St. Clair Shores are the two concrete slabs right behind the back line on the courts furthest from the ice arena.  Kevin and Tony will be talking with the city about making the repairs and perhaps using their concrete contractor.  We have set aside a budget of $5000 for this project.  We would like to get this done in the spring before play begins. 

The second area of concern is dealing with a few slippery spots on the courts.  We are going to talk with some experts on concrete on how to possibly acid treat or other approaches to get these spots on the court less slippery.  We do want to avoid any type of coating solution that would require redoing every year. 

Palmer Park

With the renovation work of so many MHA members and the City of Detroit, Palmer Park has returned to action.  The front courts had a nice coating added last summer to smooth out the bounces.  We are looking to redo the back courts this spring.  Stewart Shevin, who has been a key piece of the renovation, will be looking into the costs so we can finalize a budget and approval. 

Southfield

The two main issues with the Southfield courts for handball are the exposed beams in the ceiling and a fence to help stop balls leaving the court.  We have explored some efforts to address these issues with the City of Southfield.  Unfortunately, the required work that the City would desire is beyond what the MHA could financially support.   The issues will again be discussed with the City Parks and Recreation Department to see if the needed fence and/or ceiling improvements can be included in a future City project.

Tournaments:

Thankfully, the pandemic looks like it is nearing the end.  With the current vaccination rates there is hope everyone wanting a vaccine could get one by April.  Nevertheless, there is a lot of uncertainty and it is difficult to plan an event under these circumstances.  All national tournaments have been put on hold as well.  

Hopefully, the summer will bring a return to normal or at least very close.   We will look to have both our singles and doubles tournaments this summer if conditions permit. 

Growing the Game

Another core mission of the MHA is to help grow the game of handball.  We discussed several ideas including an amateur contest for first time players.  We will look to pilot these efforts in 2022.