Yuma, Arizona - The City of Yuma welcomes members of Arizona Public Service and the Phoenix Suns to Yuma at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 11 to dedicate a new court inside the gym.
Members of the public are invited to the event, which is scheduled to feature the Phoenix Suns Gorilla and Community Ambassador Steven Hunter. Suns broadcaster Kevin Ray is expected to host the event.
Suns President and Chief Executive Officer Jason Rowley, APS Chief Executive Officer Don Brandt and Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls are expected to speak. Students from Harvest Prep Academy, which uses the gym through agreement with the City, will also attend.
Not to be confused with the city park of a similar name, the Joe Henry Optimist Center is located at 1793 S. 1st Ave.
The new maple hardwood floor at the Joe Henry Optimist Center was built as part of APS’ The Rebound Project, “a community initiative that positively impacts local youth through the renovation of basketball courts throughout Arizona,” according to material provided by APS and the Suns. Yuma’s gym will be the 14th court renovation furnished by The Rebound Project.
The new gym floor is one of several improvements in the Joe Henry center and park over the past several months. Air-conditioning was added thanks to a Community Development Block Grant, the Optimist Club of Yuma, and the City. Outside the gym, the sidewalk was transformed into a life-size Candy Land game, which opened April 7, thanks to the National Recreation and Parks Association, the Walt Disney Company, Community Development Block Grant and the City.
Combined with recent improvements to the building including the facility’s first-ever air-conditioning system, Yuma Parks and Recreation will offer programs inside the gym all year long.
“We are so grateful to the Phoenix Suns Charities and APS for selecting Yuma as a recipient of their Rebound Project,” said Parks and Recreation Director Debbie Wendt. “I know that when the kids walk into the newly renovated gym for the first time and see the shiny new floor, they’re going to think, ‘Wow, I’m at a first class NBA basketball arena!’”
Programs that will be available in the improved gym include open gym basketball, open gym volleyball, men’s’ full-court basketball league, Pee Wee Basketball (June through August), and youth summer basketball and volleyball clinics (three sessions available through June and July). More details are available in the current edition of the Spring/Summer Activities Guide.