Teams get gym pass for hoops

An adult basketball league will be allowed to take over Costa Mesa’s downtown basketball gym on Sundays after a unanimous decision by the Parks and Recreation Commission on Wednesday night.

The Santa Ana-based league asked to use the facility last month because its usual gym in its home city is closed for renovation, but four of the five commissioners did not support Commissioner Kurt Galitski’s motion to approve it.

Commissioners said at Wednesday night’s meeting that they had no problem with the league and were just indecisive because they didn’t have enough information, specifically about how many Costa Mesa residents would be displaced by the new league.

“My indecision didn’t come from a lot of these concerns that people are raising…I just felt like I was left with a void because I was searching for some extra information that I didn’t have,� said Commissioner Mike Brumbaugh, who asked to have the item put back on the agenda.

City-run drop in basketball and volleyball hours will be eliminated on Sundays because of the agreement with the league, but recreation department officials said the gym was scarcely used on those days. An average of 22 people usually show up on those days, of whom about half are residents, according to Recreation Director Jana Ransom.

League president Rigoberto Bautista said four of the 50-or-so teams enrolled in the league are made up of Costa Mesa residents and two other Costa Mesa teams wanted to join but were denied because of lack of space.

“The reason we’re looking to expand into Costa Mesa is that we have too many teams,� Bautista said.

Aztec Basketball League will be able to use the gym for $840 per day, which the city estimates will generate roughly $40,000 in revenue per year. The league’s permission to use the gym will be granted on a month-to-month basis until the city can come to an official agreement for longer-term use.