By Matt de Simone
Botetourt County cut the ribbon on the refurbished basketball and tennis courts of Blue Ridge Park last Friday. The event featured a short program featuring comments by County Parks & Recreation Director Victor Morales and Blue Ridge Supervisor Walter Michael. Residents and guests “packed the park” and were joined by representatives of Performance Pickleball ROA, a state-of-the-art 10-court indoor dedicated pickleball facility located in Roanoke developed to create the home for local pickleball enthusiasts. Pickleball players offered short clinics on the game of pickleball following the program.
The improvements to Blue Ridge Park have been a part of the county’s Capital Improvement Plan since 2021. The basketball court improvements were not originally a part of the initial funding for park improvements. However, as Morales pointed out in an interview Friday morning, a previously funded project was abandoned in order to add the refurbishment of the basketball court area now (as opposed to what was originally planned for 2027-28) and to fix other parks in the county.
“Instead of building something new, we wanted to repair what was old,” Morales explained. “I decided that, presented it to the Board (of Supervisors), and they gave me approval being able to fund the project three years in advance.”
Morales shared that he didn’t want there to be new tennis courts side by side with basketball courts that needed a touching up. Now, the entire area has seen improvements that include pickleball nets on wheels that can be moved for tennis players and adjustable basketball hoops for hoopers of all ages to enjoy. He added that there are future plans for summer programming at Blue Ridge Park, which was one of Morales’s first visits to the different parks of Botetourt after he took over as Park & Rec director last year. He looks forward to seeing what the future holds for the park and its new uses.
The courts were last painted in 2008. The recent touch-up has the court facilities looking brand new. Recent weather conditions prevented staff to finish adding the lines on the basketball courts but those will be completed within the next month, according to Morales.
“The people of Blue Ridge like to have a safe, an easily accessible, and a top-quality space to get some fresh air,” Michael shared on Friday. “These courts will serve our families, our friends, and our future athletes for years to come. My hope is that these courts will be a place for exercise and also for community activities and the memories that can be made here… I encourage everybody to enjoy these facilities and continue to take pride in our neighborhood.”
Photos by Matt de Simone
Vernon Meador, who was an advocate for the building of Blue Ridge Park in 1993, was on hand to help cut the ribbon on the refurbished courts alongside county administration and local pickleball and basketball enthusiasts. Meador shared clippings from a May 7, 2003 edition of The Fincastle Herald that featured an article about the expansion of activities offered at the park. Today, Botetourt and Roanoke Valley residents have a place to play pick-up hoops or pickleball at this “small gem” as described by Herald staff writer William Little in 2003.
These much-anticipated upgrades were the outcome of careful planning, active community involvement, and a unified vision for vibrant recreational areas in Botetourt.
Additionally, indoor pickleball will be offered at Breckinridge Elementary from July 1 to July 31. Open Play sessions are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-8 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. There will be no play on July 4 and July 5 in observance of Independence Day. Participants must be age 12 or older. Equipment is provided, and courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For those new to the game, a video titled “How to Play Pickleball” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMwKyO4-WYU) is available to help beginners get started.
