- The Utah Jazz unveiled a new Jazz-themed basketball court at Northwest Recreation Center in Salt Lake City.
- It's the first of eight planned renovations in partnership with Delta Air Lines.
- Local leaders highlighted Junior Jazz's impact on families and youth basketball.
SALT LAKE CITY — It appeared that nothing could erase the pure exuberance from the few dozen children as they ran out onto the new Utah Jazz-themed basketball court at the Northwest Recreation Center to secure a ball.
Soon after, the rambunctious bunch — clad in purple shirts — eagerly dribbled around the court before taking in some instructions during a Junior Jazz hoops clinic. It was a fun way to break in the new surface at the recreation center in Salt Lake City's Fairpark neighborhood.
This is now the 26th "community court" that the Utah Jazz have sponsored across northern Utah, but the first of eight renovations planned through an initiative partnership with Delta Air Lines to refurbish eight courts over the next seven years, said Chris Barney, president of revenue and commercial strategy at Smith Entertainment Group.
"These community courts matter. They create access, remove barriers and give kids a safe, high-quality place to play, learn and grow through sports," he said, adding that the project will ultimately improve the "landscape" of youth basketball in the region.
The newly designed court isn't quite like the Delta Center, but the children took to it as if it were the next best thing. It features a purple baseline with Utah Jazz logos, topped with a J-Note similar to the home court at the Delta Center. A pair of Jazz-themed murals with the "mountain basketball" motif is plastered by the entrance of the gym, adding to the experience.
Jazz Bear made a special appearance to cap the NBA feel, blasting the crowd with confetti after cutting the ribbon to celebrate the new court.
The new design might help kids connect with the county-run recreation center and with their community, said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, who attended the ceremony. The county has partnered with the Junior Jazz program for decades, accounting for some of the 2 million youth who have participated since it was established in 1983, while over 50,000 volunteer coaches have come from the county since the program started.
In addition to helping finance the new court, Delta covered the costs for a few hundred Junior Jazz players, which helps families manage spending, she said.
"Basketball ... builds identity, of who we are as individuals and what we're capable of," added Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, later pointing out the importance Junior Jazz had in her family after her father's death.
"Our story is actually part of hundreds of thousands of stories, of families who would otherwise couldn't have afforded or wouldn't have known how to access a competitive team that cost a lot of money, and was hard to get onto," she said.
