By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE Township officials celebrated the opening of two newly improved and expanded bocce courts last week, both partially funded by the county.
The courts cost the town half of the $83,552 price tag, and according to Robbinsville Bocce Ball Club member John Gaffney, they’re the best in the tri-state area.
”It’s a beautiful court,” said the 67-year-old Hillside Terrace resident, who has been a member of the club since 2003. “I’ve played in three states around and it’s the best I’ve come across.”
Mayor Dave Fried and Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes were among the officials who appeared at the July 9 ceremony to cut the ribbon on the courts, located at the Robbinsville Senior Center on Route 130.
One court was added to accompany the original, which was built in 2003 and was updated in the expansion to match the new area. Both were equipped with new carpeting and lighting, as well as ceiling fans over both ends of each court, a sidewalk around the playing area, and a pavilion above it.
Work on the courts started eight months ago, and while the ribbon was only recently cut, the new courts have been finished and in use since June, Mr. Gaffney said.
He said the additions allow the club to play while it’s raining and late into the night. Before the township installed lights, he said the club would bring their own lights and plug them in. The number of players has also grown substantially, he added, from between 8 and 15 players to as many as 24.
The court is open at all times to residents of Mercer County, though only club members have keys to the locked boxes which contain the bocce balls. Mr. Gaffney said non-members are free to bring their own and play.
Robbinsville Senior Center Director Renee Burns described Mr. Gaffney as “an integral player” in the court’s expansion.
Mr. Gaffney said the club was involved with planning the courts, which were designed by architect George Fett. “(They) gave us just about everything we asked for,” he said.
Half of the cost of the courts was covered by the county through its Mercer at Play Program, which contributes up to half of the cost of a one-municipality project and up to 100 percent of one done cooperatively by two or more towns.