Salt Lake City and Utah Jazz unveil renovated basketball court at Liberty Park

SALT LAKE CITY — A project a few years in the making finally came to fruition Thursday.

Its goal is to bring people together over the sport of basketball.

“This has just been a long time, a long time coming,” said Lance Lavizzo.

Lavizzo, of Rose Park, has been coming to play basketball at Liberty Park for many years.

“I’ve been coming to this park since I was a kid,” he said.

Lavizzo now runs an organization called Hard n’ Paint — and decided the court that now sits near the northwest side of the park needed some extra care. After applying for funds through the city’s capital improvement program, the court has a brand new look.

Salt Lake City officials along with the Utah Jazz and Delta Air Lines worked on upgrading the court. A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the upgrades made which include a newly refurbished playing surface, new perimeter fencing, and a custom-painted mural by Ogden artist Lindsay Huss.

The court is now surrounded by bright colors, like orange, blue, and yellow along with the Utah Jazz logo at center court.

“We love basketball,” said Utah Jazz President Jim Olson. “The state of Utah is a basketball sport, and this is a way that we bring basketball back to the community and (giving) the kids and even adults an opportunity to play basketball at great parks and other places throughout the state.”

Olson said the court is one of nearly two dozen courts the Utah Jazz have helped build or fund across the state.

After the ceremony, a group of kids that are a part of a city youth development program had the chance to step on the new court for the first time along with Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George and others.

Lavizzo hopes this space can bring people together through basketball.

“The community needed a safe place, a beautiful place to come and practice, train,” he said.