City of London completes new basketball courts

(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - October 10, 2012)

The transformation of half of the long defunct and deteriorating tennis courts on Park Avenue in London is complete. The spot is now home to two new, side-by-side, full-size basketball courts.

The project was paid for in part by a $5,000 United Way grant secured by the London Community Organization. The grant covered most of the cost for new hoops, backboards and poles. The Community Organization is a 501(c)4 non-profit that secures funding and promotes events and programs for the betterment of London.

The rest of the project was covered by the City of London’s parks and playground fund, which is comprised of park fees the city assesses on new developments and donations individuals or organizations make specifically for recreation-related improvements in London. For the basketball courts, the fund paid for part of the equipment ($1,800), blacktopping ($12,000), and striping ($750). None of the money came from the general fund, noted Steve Hume, London’s safety-service director.

“I want to thank everyone involved in the project. The courts look great,” said Councilman Pat Closser at council's Oct. 4 meeting.
The city hopes to receive a $20,000 Nature Works grant to transform the other half of the old tennis courts into a skate park.

The basketball courts at Cowling Park on North High Street will be dismantled. Hume said the city will leave the blacktop and possibly use the area as an ice skating rink in the winter.

Brillo’s 100th anniversary
Hume reported that Armaly Brands will celebrate the Brillo brand’s 100th anniversary next year. The world’s only Brillo pad manufacturing plant is located on West First Street in London. Plant representatives are seeking permission from the city to post signs around town commemorating the anniversary.

With its beginnings in Brooklyn, N.Y., the steel wool scouring pad was patented in 1913 under the name Brillo. The London plant began operations in 1921 as the Williams Co. Brillo Manufacturing Co. purchased Williams Co. in 1955. The factory was expanded in the late 1960s and an office was built across the street. In 1985, Greyhound Corp. purchased several brands from Purex, including Brillo. The company was renamed the Greyhound Dial Corp. in 1990 and then became simply Dial Corp. in 1991. Dial sold Brillo and the London factory to Church & Dwight Co. in 1997. Church & Dwight then sold the factory and the brand name to Armaly Brands in 2010.

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