It was a little bit after 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28 when Hoxsie Elementary School principal Gary McCoombs picked up a basketball, turned to a group of students, and challenged them all to a one-on-one pickup game.

While McCoombs was joking, it proved a sign of the jovial mood at Hoxsie as the school christened a new court, located in the back of the school, with a ribbon cutting and bouncing ball.

The court, painted in a bright shade of “Hoxsie blue,” was finished on Sept. 1, according to McCoombs. Students from William Potter’s fifth grade class were let out for a brief early recess to celebrate the court’s official opening.

Ward 4 councilman James McElroy provided a major assist to the project, according to McCoombs, through American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) money. While an initial request for air conditioning was rejected due to it being too expensive, rebounding to build the new court was a steal for the school, according to McCoombs.

“Each member [of the city council] was given $200,000 for structural improvements in their ward of the city,” McElroy said. “The basketball court was a top priority.”

McElroy said that the total cost of the basketball court was $71,092.50, leaving $128,907.50 for additional projects. Much of the rest of the money, according to McElroy, will likely be going to building a pagoda at Conimicut Point.

Multiple students presented homemade thank-you cards to McElroy, most of which featured their drawings of the basketball court.

“[The cards] were really good,” McElroy said. “That’s the type of thing that makes the job worthwhile.”

It was, in the end, a student who decided that it should be McElroy who got the honor of cutting the ribbon, which spanned from one stanchion to the other.

McCoombs pointed out that one of the major benefits of the court was providing a space for the community to play, pointing out that he had seen a few of Pilgrim High School’s basketball players- former Hoxsie students- practicing at the court.

“The former Hawks were playing here,” McCoombs said. “It was a hot day. They were playing shirts vs. skins, and there were kids on the side watching and there was music playing. I said, ‘Well, this is awesome.’ It was so refreshing to see.”

Also in attendance at the opening were Mayor Frank Picozzi, City Council President Stephen McAllister and School Committee member Leah Hazelwood.

Following the ceremony, students had an additional few minutes to shoot around- with McCoombs and Potter putting some shots up as well- before their classes resumed.

The new court is something that McCoombs sees both students and former students enjoying for years to come. While the students in attendance are in their final year at the elementary school, McCoombs told them that they will always be members of the Hoxsie community, and they’re welcome to come back and shoot hoops after they move on to Warwick Veterans Middle School next year.

“When you leave next year, come back to play after school,” McCoombs said. “This is for you guys, and this is an amazing court.”