News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Contractors and volunteers connect a new rim to a basketball backboard at the new sports complex at Bay View Park in Alpena on Monday. The facility is now open for people to shoot hoops or play pickleball or tennis.

ALPENA — The new Bay View Sports Complex is now open for pickleball, tennis, and basketball players to enjoy.

Organizers and volunteers put the finishing touches on the new basketball, pickleball, and tennis courts at Bay View Park on Monday and the new lakeside facility is sure to be a hit.

On Monday morning, volunteers added backboards and rims to the basketball courts, while others hung the wind screens to the fencing of the tennis and pickleball courts. Tables also line the courts for people to sit and relax or take a break from the action.

There is still some sidewalk and lighting work that needs to be done by the City of Alpena, but it is unknown when it will be done, as the city has several other projects that are still ongoing.

City Engineer Steve Shultz told The News in a text that the contractor hired to do the sidewalks will do it when it fits into their schedule and the lighting will be awarded the lighting job soon. Shultz said the lighting work could begin this fall.

The project, which features three regulation-size tennis courts, five pickleball courts, and three basketball courts, was spearheaded by the Friends of the Alpena Courts and cost about $340,000 with the project being paid for with local donations, as well as a generous $100,000 grant from the Alpena County Youth and Recreation Commission. This is the first phase of the project, with the balance of the work to come next spring, when a new pavilion will be built by Mike Kendziorski, who constructed the wooden bridge and water tower at Duck Park.

In a press release on Sunday, Ron Fusina, a member of the Friends group and point person for the project, said people in Alpena who want to play ball are now able to do so and encouraged anyone to drop by the park to see the final product.

“Go ahead and play on these wonderful courts,” he said in his update. “Access to the courts can be made via the parking lot or along the band shell bike path.”

In March, Fusina said it was becoming difficult for people who want to play pickleball, tennis, or basketball because of a lack of courts. He said that is especially true for pickleball, which has grown in popularity over the last several years.

He said the Friends group previously made improvements at McRae Park and maintains the courts, and it plans to do the same at Bay View Park.

Fusina said the old Bay View Park courts were in dire need of a refresh, and he believes the location of the complex and the amenities it offers will help accommodate current players and new ones, no matter if it is pickleball, basketball, or tennis.

“The Bay View Park tennis and basketball courts were in disrepair,” he said. “The tennis courts had multiple cracks and aging fencing surrounding them. The basketball courts were not regulation size and in desperate need of resurfacing, and the hoop systems were worn and outdated. We believe that having the new Bay View Sports Complex, in such a highly visible location in Alpena, will provide the Alpena community a source of pride by promoting both physical and social activities.”

The new sports complex won’t be the only new addition to the popular park where the city’s bandshell is also located. The city is utilizing grant funding from the state to build a public restroom facility that will also include a small pavilion.

That project is also expected to be completed this year or in the spring. Work is also ongoing on the new Culligan Plaza only a few blocks away from Bay View and that project should be done in the fall.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.