Civic body ropes in US basketball body for its schools

Schoolchildren studying in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools will soon be dunking hoops in famous NBA-style courts, reports Neelam Pandey.

Schoolchildren studying in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools will soon be dunking hoops in famous NBA-style courts.

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According to the civic body, the United States of America’s National Basketball Association will be developing basketball courts in MCD schools to promote the sport in the Capital.

“I met NBA officials during the Republic Day function and they had shown a keen interest in developing basketball courts to encourage kids to take up the sport. They had requested us to provide them a suitable site and they will be developing a court in one MCD school (in Sarvpriya Vihar) to start with,” said Mayor Arti Mehra. There are 1,751 MCD schools in the Capital.

The courts will be developed free of cost by the NBA in July.

The civic body is constructing an indoor basketball stadium at Ajmal Khan Park in Karol Bagh as a part of the preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The construction work of this stadium will start in July. The stadium, to be constructed at a cost of Rs.3.5 crore, will have capacity of accommodating 2,000 spectators.

“NBA’s top officials will be coming to Delhi for the stone laying ceremony of the stadium. They will also visit the site where the basketball court will be developed by them”, added Mehra.

According to Mehra, the NBA officials have also shown an interest in providing a coach to train students. After school hours, the local kids would also be able to use the facility free of cost.