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City looking at different sporting court surfaces

The City of Red Deer is investigating whether different surfaces are better and cheaper for the basketball and tennis courts.

The City of Red Deer is investigating whether different surfaces are better and cheaper for the basketball and tennis courts.

And so far, traditional mainstay asphalt wins out.

But the city may add a plexi-court finish to one court.

The city’s Recreation, Parks and Culture department looked into other options for finishes of tennis/basketball courts after city council asked for a report last December.

Asphalt came out on top — it has a lower capital cost, its initial lifespan runs about 20 to 25 years, and the surface can be overlaid for one-fifth of the initial capital costs to extend the asset life.

Rink boards and ice surfaces can also be installed on asphalt.

Concrete has a longer initial lifespan, a smoother surface and very limited cracking.

But some of its downfalls include not being able to accommodate rink boards and ice surfaces, and nearly doubling the capital cost of construction.

The report shows that using concrete on play surfaces over the next 100 years could run at $995,000, while asphalt’s bill is pegged at $475,000.

Councillor Chris Stephan had questions about using asphalt back in December. He described asphalt as one that can get really worn out.

Surfaces can begin to look like “junk” and like “ghetto”, he said on Monday.

Stephan suggested looking at a single court with having a plexi-court finish, and that administration look at a location.

Plexi-court finishes can be applied to either asphalt or concrete surfaces.

Plexi-court sport surfaces are said to be ideal for basketball, badminton, volleyball, and netball courts as well as for other recreational areas because they are said to deliver unparalleled grip performance in game play.

Currently, this is the surface finish used at the Red Deer Tennis Club’s facilities and is offered as a premier facility finish. Costs for a typical 30mx60m pad are about $90,000 over and above the costs of the initial surface.

Council agreed on Monday to have administration explore the possibilities of applying a plexi-court finish as a pilot project and to bring back a report to council within six weeks.

ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com