One Gilroy City Councilman says it’s time to keep the city’s
bocce-playing residents closer to home, without the $35,000 price
tag mentioned during the Council’s annual retreat.
One Gilroy City Councilman says it’s time to keep the city’s bocce-playing residents closer to home, without the $35,000 price tag mentioned during the Council’s annual retreat.
Councilman Dion Bracco said the city should finally replace the bocce courts that were removed from Forest Street Park five years ago to install a new well.
Since the courts were removed, local bocce players have had to travel to places such as Morgan Hill and Monterey to compete, Bracco said.
“And there you have to wait in line to play,” he said. “There is an interest here in town.”
Bracco said bringing back the courts would not only entertain local residents, but it could open the door to future events.
“Then we can have tournaments here,” he said.
Other city officials think new bocce courts would be popular, but questions about costs linger.
During the Council’s goal-setting session Jan. 28, city engineer Rick Smelser said one way that bocce courts could be constructed was in “cookie-cutter” designs, typically arranged in two to four courts per area, with a price tag of $35,000.
Smelser the estimate came from what it took to build an elaborate court in San Jose, something Gilroy doesn’t need.
The estimate included not just the court itself, but coverings, walkways and other amenities, Smelser said.
“It’s probably much more than the court,” Smelser said. “That’s a little bit larger than what we’d like to build in Gilroy.”
Ben Musolf, Chief Operating Officer of Campo di Bocce and a member of the United States Bocce Federation Board of Directors, said his bocce courts run upwards of $30,000, but they too are very elaborate with scoreboards and a synthetic polyurethane material.
“There’s a lot involved,” Musolf said, who has facilities in Livermore and Los Gatos.
He said courts could be constructed for much cheaper. A regulation bocce court runs 86 feet 10 inches long and 10 feet 11 inches wide, he said. Courts generally can be constructed for between $10 and $40 per square foot. Musolf said the city didn’t have to build an over-the-top bocce court, but shouldn’t risk building a cheaper model and paying more to maintain it later on.
Smelser said Gilroy didn’t build “cookie-cutter” park facilities, and the city could look into constructing various courts to develop costs that may be tied to other projects.
City Administrator Thomas Haglund called the $35,000 price tag “a little more expensive than I anticipated.”
Bracco concurred, saying, “I would never agree to paying $35,000 for a bocce ball court.”
Smelser said the city was looking into getting an accurate figure of what a basic, “scaled-down” court would cost.
He has already talked to the parks and recreation departments for possible sites and updated cost estimates. Smelser said he could have figures in the coming week. Monday’s City Council meeting has no mention of bocce court agenda item up for discussion.
Councilman Perry Woodward said a new bocce court could be popular and “could be put in just about anywhere.” He added too much time was allowed for bocce discussion during the recent Council retreat.
“I don’t think it was a good investment of the Council’s time,” he said.
Haglund said the city was open to recruiting residents or organizations interested in volunteer projects to help construct a new bocce court.
Bracco said several community volunteers could build the court easily, if the city approved.
“We don’t have to go out to bid for something like this,” he said.
As to where a new bocce court could be constructed, Mayor Al Pinheiro said it was for the city’s parks and recreation departments to decide “the best place that would allow for the most use in the community.”
Council members have said Miller Park, Las Animas Park or Christmas Hill Park were potential locations for a court.
After remembering the “old days” of elderly gentleman playing bocce in Gilroy, Pinheiro said he wondered if residents here would take to a new community bocce court if the city paid for one.
Though “people aren’t knocking on my door asking for a bocce ball court,” people would likely use the court on a regular basis, Pinheiro said.
Haglund said Gilroy wasn’t the only city focusing on bocce. He said the League of California Cities holds an annual bocce tournament, where different city council teams compete against each other.
Haglund agreed, in jest, that Gilroy could improve their bocce skills with a new court.
“Maybe we can get a little more practice,” Haglund joked.
