MANCHESTER, NH – A crowd gathered in the sweltering summer heat at Wolfe Park on Saturday, July 15 to officially open two reconstructed basketball courts, named for Manchester native and famed NBA trainer and social media influencer Chris Brickley and his father Bill Brickley.
Mayor Joyce Craig and Ward 10 alderman Bill Barry joined the Brickleys, Chris Brickley’s manager Alex Koblenz, Chief of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Mark Gomez, and the executive director of the Lids Foundation, Sarah Lim, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In an official proclamation, Mayor Craig then declared July 15, 2023, Chris Brickley Day in Manchester and urged other residents to follow Brickley’s example and “give back to the community in a positive way.”
Brickley—who attended Trinity High School and was named 2005 “High School Player of the Year” and has trained NBA superstars such as Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and James Harden—was instrumental in working with the Lids Foundation, Project Backboard, sponsors Puma and BODYARMOR and city officials to fund, design and construct the new courts at Wolfe Park.
Having grown up playing hoops at Wolfe Park, and having seen the dilapidated state of the former courts, Brickley described the unveiling of the new courts as “surreal.”
“Seeing my father’s name and the names of some close friends that passed away [painted onto the courts’ design] is a surreal feeling,” Brickley said. “It means a lot.”
Following the ceremony, Brickley held a free basketball clinic for 50 children, ranging from ages 10-16, from 1-2:30 p.m. on the new courts. “I’m big on doing free clinics and influencing the youth in a positive way,” he said.
Gomez said that the project is meant to reinforce the message that Parks and Recreation Department supports the local basketball community.
In the past four years, the city has completely rebuilt the courts at Pulaski Park and Rock Rimmon, as well as Wolfe Park, while “extensively renovating” the courts at Sheridan-Emmett Park and Enright Park.
“These courts were in absolutely terrible condition, yet you would still see kids shooting around. It was a measure of the demand in Manchester for places to play basketball,” said Gomez.
Last July, Brickley’s manager Koblenz approached Manchester Parks and Recreation about teaming up with the Lids Foundation, which provides support directly to local communities and charitable organizations “to enable community members of all ages to live more active, healthy, and productive lives,” and Project Backboard, an organization whose mission is to renovate public basketball courts and install large-scale works of site-specific art. The initial goal was to repair and paint the Wolfe Park basketball courts.
However, the courts were in such a state of disrepair that Parks and Recreation proposed a partnership with their Adopt-a-Site Program to fully replace the courts, awarding the bid to New England Courts in Candia last September for $103,900.
“We pitched Chris Brickley and his folks on the idea of fully rebuilding the two courts at Wolfe Park, and to their great credit, they agreed,” said Gomez.
The Lids Foundation, with contributions from Brickley and his sponsors, raised $101,900 for the reconstruction of the courts with Project Backboards’ design work costing $29,000.
Project Backboard artist Alyssa Barnes—with input from Koblenz, Brickley and the LIDS Foundation—submitted her colorful design in December and ground broke on the project on April 24.
For Brickley, who also works in fashion branding and music, it is about giving back to the community that raised him. “I want to give Manchester residents a safe place to play basketball, get a workout in and meet some friends in a positive way,” he said.
Mayor Craig lauded the public and private partnerships that worked to together on the project to build the courts.
“It’s giving the kids an area to meet people and build relationships and the future,” said Craig. “It’s a really great opportunity for the city, and I’m tremendously grateful.”
For 48-year-old Manchester resident Mark Boytin, who lives on Harvell Street and brings his 3-year-old son to the park on weekends, the transformation was “jaw-dropping.”
Boytin said, “To be honest, I’ve never seen basketball courts that look this nice.”