By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
Pushed across the finish line thanks to a major gift from community member John Dancu, the Big Sky Community Organization’s multi-year effort to renovate its pickleball and tennis courts is now complete.
The old courts had outlived their prime, becoming cracked and often crowded, and a community-wide fundraising effort resulted in a $1.3 million project highlighted by eight pickleball courts and two tennis courts with post-tension construction to prevent cracking, protected under a 50-year warranty.
The “courthouse” shack was also renovated to include bathrooms, but will remain closed temporarily until the completion of further Big Sky Community Park renovations, beginning Aug. 11.
Dancu moved to Big Sky two years ago from Atlanta, and found a welcoming community through pickleball.
“I met just a great community of people, all young and old, they didn’t care that I wasn’t good… They didn’t care that I didn’t know how to keep score,” Dancu told an audience of a few dozen racket sport enthusiasts and BSCO employees at an Aug. 7 ribbon cutting event.
He thanked those people for their “massive participation” in fundraising, counting more than 70 of his peers who contributed in varying amounts to the renovation.
“I’m real proud of y’all, and how everybody came together and donated money, it was a real team effort,” Dancu said. “… The courts are just amazing and beautiful, and the construction and everything—what you all did there is just fantastic.”
The most exciting feature of the new facility, he told EBS, is its promise to serve as a gathering place for friends and visitors. He made a point to include the word “community” in the facility’s name, to remind users to carry on their welcoming culture and tradition.
“I love it here. And I love it here because of the community and the people that I’ve met,” Dancu said.
Madeleine Feher, CEO of BSCO, thanked BSCO staff and partners including Mike Scholz for leading the whole effort, Two Bear Construction for its vision to bring the courthouse “back to life” including restrooms and a roof installed by Cornerstone Management Services, Renner Sports for the court construction and Big Sky Rotary Club for volunteering to stain the wooden deck.
Most of all, she thanked Dancu for his crucial support.
“John, you showed up with heart, you changed our lives, and you made this project possible,” Feher said.
BSCO will host a community pickleball tournament over Labor Day weekend, with scramble-style play on Aug. 31. Community members are encouraged to join BSCO’s WhatsApp pickleball group to stay up to date on pickup games and events.
