Government

Lavallette Authorizes Agreement for Basketball Court Renovation

by
Daniel Nee
May 22, 2026

The Lavallette basketball courts, including an aging one remaining near to the south. / Designs from “Project Backboard” basketball courts. (Photo: Project Backboard)

Lavallette officials voted this week to authorize an agreement between the borough and Project Backboard, a nonprofit organization that funds the revitalization of basketball courts across the country.

The overall project involves the resurfacing of the oldest basketball courts in town, near the southernmost portion of the bayfront before West Point Island (bottom-left in the photo that accompanies this article), and the installation of new hoops, court markings and artwork. Project Backboard would fund the hoops and court artwork, while the borough would be responsible for the resurfacing – a project that was already needed to ensure the safe of the court, officials said.

The offer from Project Backboard was first proposed last month, but some officials raised concern about the artwork designs that had been used on the vast majority of the courts that had been re-done by the organization. Most were more urban or avant garde in nature, taking cues from inner city street art and what was frequently described as “psychedelic” designs. But Mayor Walter LaCicero said this week that the borough would have the final call as to the approval of the design. Councilwoman Joanne Filippone, who was most vocal about the out-of-character designs of the organization’s previous projects, expressed a desire at the meeting to ensure that the council would be able to review the final design scheme before any work was set to begin. She suggested – as she had previously – a coastal style that might incorporate the borough seal.

Some deteriorated wood around the court has already been removed by the Public Works department, officials said, and the legal language that formed the contract agreement with Project Backboard – which also drew concerns at a previous meeting – were sufficiently addressed by Borough Attorney William Burns.

As bids and final plans have not yet been determined, a timeline for the work has yet to be solidified, however the authorization to move forward was approved by a council vote. Ocean County has said it would be willing to use excess asphalt from ongoing road work in West Point Island to resurface the court.