The city plans to remove the basketball court in Watson Park, which is prone to flooding, during the summer as part of ongoing construction, and it’s not yet clear whether a new court will replace it.

Nick Hoyt, a city engineering program manager, discussed construction plans for the Jayhawk Watershed Project during the Lawrence City Commission’s Tuesday meeting. The project is intended to remedy stormwater infrastructure and flooding issues throughout Old West Lawrence and along Ninth Street.

A young community member told commissioners during public comment following the announcement that people really enjoy the basketball court.

“Since the community building is being closed and the rec buildings are now with fee, it’s hard to get a basketball court to play with without having to pay,” the youth said. “… So I think you should rebuild or move the basketball court.”

The court will be removed in summer 2026 largely because it is a frequent site of flooding.

At the Tuesday meeting, Hoyt played a video from June 2019 showing a car driving south down a flooded Tennessee Street during a five-year storm event. The video captures a large volume of water flowing from the street to the park, flooding the basketball court.

Hoyt said his team discussed the court with the city’s Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC) department, and they said the court is high maintenance.

“This flooding creates ongoing maintenance issues, as the court is frequently covered in mud and requires extensive pressure washing to make it playable,” the project team said via email through a city spokesperson.

Hoyt said the park will likely be regraded to drain into the spot where the court currently is.

“(That) area of the park will still serve as a temporary stormwater detention area once the project is complete,” the team said.

Renovations to the outdoor pool will start in late summer 2026, running concurrently with portions of the Jayhawk Watershed Project. Due to the impact of both projects, the city anticipates that the park will need to be rehabilitated come 2027 when construction has wrapped up.

Following public comment, Commissioner Kristine Polian confirmed that there is still time to discuss how to bring the basketball court back. Hoyt said that PRC recommended finding a new location for the court as opposed to reinstalling it in Watson Park.

“There is a possibility of bringing the basketball court back in a new location that is less prone to flooding,” the team said. “We will also need to review the existing playgrounds and ADA sidewalks that provide access to any new or relocated amenities installed as part of this park refresh.”

The city doesn’t have funding plans in place for the potential new court, but they said money could come from debt-funded projects or operational funds connected to that part of the park.

“I see tons of people of all ages there all the time doing all sorts of different stuff, mostly basketball though, and there’s not a lot of other basketball courts around just that area,” the community youth said during public comment.

For those able to travel to another location, the city maintains free outdoor basketball courts at the following community and neighborhood parks, according to the parks’ webpages:

• Brook Creek Park, 1200 Brook St.
• Chaparral Park, 2700 Ponderosa Drive
• Chief Jim McSwain Park, 1941 Haskell Ave.
• Clinton Park, 901 W. Fifth St.
• Deerfield Park, 2801 Princeton Blvd.
• Edgewood Park at Maple Lane and Miller Drive
• HAND Park, 1040 Home Circle
• Hobbs Park, 702 E. 11th St.
• Holcom Park, 2601 W. 25th St.
• L.R. “Dad” Perry Park, 1200 Monterey Way from the west, Harvard and Parkside Road from the north
• Lyons Park, 700 North Lyon St.
• Park Hills Park, 500 Oklahoma St., 300 Kansas St. and 201 Nebraska St.
• Prairie Park, 2811 Kensington Road
• Veterans Park, 1840 Louisiana St.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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