The Village of Wellington held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new basketball court at Tiger Shark Cove Park on Tuesday, Nov. 12 with members of the Wellington Village Council, village staff and the community taking part.
The Tiger Shark Cove Park athletic facility features two batting cages, three pavilions, four softball fields and a concession stand located at 13800 Greenbriar Blvd. The basketball courts will add a new space to engage youth. The two sections of the park are next to New Horizons Elementary School and serve as a recreational rendezvous area for both youngsters and teenagers.
Nearby, also at the park, is a community-designed playground by Leathers & Associates that was constructed by hundreds of volunteers. The ocean-themed playground features unique and colorful highlights for kids to explore, including a crab shack, a large tiger shark play sculpture, an obstacle course, a sandcastle, a submarine with portholes, swing sets and a sunken pirate ship play area.
Mayor Anne Gerwig noted that one of her earliest interactions with the village was when her daughter was in second grade and on the Tiger Shark Cove Park children’s committee. Her daughter got to choose the essentials they wanted at the playground.
“I am so happy to be part of this project,” Gerwig said. “As a mom, my first interaction with the village was building the original Tiger Shark Cove Park playground when my 28-year-old daughter was in the second grade. The kids got to design the elements that they wanted by choice, and the parents came out to build it. In 2012, the village rebuilt it. It’s a fantastic playground in the front for little kids. But as a mom of toddlers, there is nothing scarier than teenagers. So, I am just so glad we have a place for teenagers to go as well.”
Councilman John McGovern told the audience that adding the basketball area to the park is an investment in the community.
“This is another exciting day for Wellington,” McGovern said. “The fact that we are here to celebrate another groundbreaking is one of the great things we do in our role on the council. But this particular groundbreaking is a statement of what we believe. We believe in this community as an investment in children and an investment in families.”
McGovern said that the courts will serve an important role.
“This has been a real effort to find ways to better engage our teenage population to give them places to go and take them temporarily away from their electronic devices,” he said. “We are very excited to have this park in this community to join the rest of the parks that we have. We are excited to get this project underway.”
