RESIDENTS OF Edgewater and the surrounding Portmore communities will benefit from a newly refurbished basketball court at the Edgewater Community Centre after heavy spenders, Tank-Weld Metals and Red Stripe pumped funds into the court’s upgrading and hosted a ceremony declaring the court to the community on Wednesday.

The court is Jamaica’s first token-for-light playing area employed at a basketball court and means the community will pay its own electric bill for games they play at nights. A token worth $500 is needed to operate the court’s lights for 60 minutes and tokens will be available on the community centre’s grounds.

Jamaica Basketball Association’s (JBA) president Marlon Nattie, speaking on behalf of his association and the community in which he is also a resident, expressed much delight in the style of lighting employed at the court and noted the JBA had a lot in store for the new facility.

“I would definitely like to thank Red Stripe and Tank-Weld for doing the unthinkable –- supporting the communities. I know that this court will provide numerous benefits for the youths and community of Portmore if managed properly,” Nattie said. “The basketball association and the Edgewater citizen’s association have already had initial discussions as to the programmes we would want to include at this facility and the first of which is a kiddies programme.”

Minister of Tourism, Entertainment andCulture, Aloun Assamba, speaking on behalf of Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, officially declared the court open to the Edgewater community after lauding the two companies and residents involved in the upgrading of the court.

“I applaud the effort, hard work and support of all those who have helped to carve put this important niche for basketball. If there is one thing all of us can agree is that sports has a central role to play in our personal life and the development of our country,” Assamba noted.

The court will also serve as the home ground for national basketball league team, Portmore Flames, to help reduce travel to the National Stadium for games.