Dixon’s Vaile Park basketball court project nearing completion

DIXON — Dixon Park District Executive Director Duane Long says it has been a long road; nevertheless, they are within sight of completing the Vaile Park basketball courts.

At Wednesday night’s Dixon Park Board meeting, Long said the courts are nearly finished, the landscaping is done and they are just waiting for the painting of the courts and installation of new backboards. After that is finished, the district is planning a grand-opening celebration.

Long is expecting the grand opening to be mid-September. The basketball courts will be named in honor of Larry and Louise Reed.

The Dixon Park District in January received a $68,200 Open Spaces Land Acquisition and Development grant to help upgrade the basketball court at Vaile Park.

OSLAD is a state-financed program with dedicated funding through a portion of the state’s real-estate transfer tax. It is offered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Recipients can get up to $600,000 for development/renovation projects or up to $1.725 million for acquisition projects, on a dollar-to-dollar match.