We're still collecting donations
On the 26th November 2022 we'd raised £23,750 with 155 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
+ est. £986.75
Help us to fund a new concrete base in the iconic London Basketball Court "The Regal" to replace the broken sprung floor.
On the 26th November 2022 we'd raised £23,750 with 155 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
The extra funding will help us cover the entire costs of the Regal Floor Redevelopment project.Any funds not required for that would support free and accessible basketball coaching for the local community.
Who we are
We are The Black Prince Trust, and we run The Black Prince Trust Community Hub in Lambeth. In the heart of London we are a 2.5 acre facility with around 150,000 attendances per year on site, which comprises 5 outdoor football/multisport pitches, 2 indoor basketball courts (one with multisport usage), and a Boxing Studio and Gym. Working with partners we deliver programmes for children and adults that are free to people in our community.
Our community programmes
We run community programmes in partnership with a range of charity partners using sport to deliver social impact in line with the following areas:
What we need funding for
Our iconic and beloved Basketball Court "The Regal" has a sprung floor that has become damaged beyond repair. We have been advised that the only solution is to remove this and replace with a concrete layer and lay a new floor on top, which is a costly process.
Our existing sprung floor has lots of areas where springs have moved, leaving too much flexibility under foot which is increasingly a health and safety concern, and also creates 'dead spots' which means the ball does not bounce properly in these areas, negatively impacting the playing experience for all our community participants and club players.
Why this is important
We have more than 15,000 attendances across our Basketball community programmes per year, two thirds of which are free to participants the rest are accessible community clubs. Weekly provision comes from our own coaches as well as key partners such as Nike, Jordan, London Basketball Association, Brixton TopCats, Love Basketball, Ball is London, Hoopspace UK and JJRob Foundation. Our community offer includes sessions for children, adults, over 55s, as well as specialist provision for Muslim women and Adults with physical and learning disabilities.
How our project will be United by Birmingham 2022
Basketball was one of the crowning achievements of England's home games at Birmingham 2022, with the Women's team taking Silver and the Men's sealing a buzzer-beating Gold medal in the inaugural 3x3 tournament, including Londoner Orlan Jackman who has coached in a school just 3 miles from our site. Basketball is statistically the joint-second most played sport in England after football, its popularity driven by a thriving player base in urban areas like where Black Prince Trust Community Hub sits.
Our space can help unite our community, enabling us to retain our accessible opportunities and to host partner events that bring communities together around important community events as we did recently Black History Month. Our Future Forward event with Nike featured a special guest appearance from the iconic Civil Rights Activist and NFL Player Colin Kaepernick, who gave an inspiring talk and engaged with participants on The Regal.
Myles Hesson, scorer of the gold medal clinching basket said, "From our exploits in Birmingham, I think people are sitting up and noticing that English and British basketball is thriving – and is played here with a dynamism, grit and poise. Characteristics that people can get behind," and the huge popularity of basketball at The Regal shows that every day. We look forward to being part of that legacy in London.
Costs
The total cost for removing the sprung floor and laying the concrete floor will be £62,400. We have secured a £15,000 pledge from one commercial partner, as well as an in kind pledge from a floor manufacturer to lay a high quality new floor at no cost.
We need to secure £47,400 - if we can reach our Crowdfunder target we will be confident of breaching the gap to complete this project.
Why support our Crowdfunder?
We provide free and accessible opportunities in a part of London with significant socio-economic deprivation but a huge love for and appreciation of basketball. Our court is enjoyed by hundreds of participants each week from a range of backgrounds.
As the state of the floor declines, we face having to close The Regal for an extended period of time due to health and safety concerns until we have raised enough funds. This would be a huge loss for both people in our local community and our extensive social impact, as well as causing a significant loss of revenue generated through bookings outside of our community programme time that enable us to run the whole site and provide numerous programmes to thousands of people each year.
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