Columbia City Council approves new design of Douglass Park basketball courts

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia City leaders unanimously approved a new design to the Douglass Park basketball courts during Monday night's council meeting.

The city had been having discussions about changing the basketball courts since 2023. It was announced in 2023 that the courts would honor Willie Cox, a former assistant coach of the University of Missouri women’s basketball team who died in 2019. Cox also hosted basketball camps at Douglass Park.

Columbia Parks and Recreation voted last month to move forward with an alternative design, after residents pushed back on earlier design concepts claiming it focused too much on the university. The two courts will now be painted blue and gray with white court lines. The west court will also include "Douglass Bulldogs" on each baseline, while the east court will include "Moonlight Hoops – Est. 1989."

Several residents from the public thanked the city for their willingness to listen to their concerns throughout the process, and expressed the need for additional security at the park. Mayor Barbara Buffaloe also thanked residents for their tenacity in speaking up.

Parks and Recreation Director Gabe Huffington also told the council on Monday that the department intends to install a water fountain with a bottle filler on the east side of the basketball court. That would require an additional $10,000 in park sales tax funding. The water fountain would be open from April through October each year, according to city documents.

Huffington also said Monday night the city is planning to have additional public engagement about the park in 2026. Discussions regarding additional security at the park will be included within those, he said.

Columbia resident Anthony Johnson was vocal throughout the discussions about ensuring the park's history was preserved through the new design. He told ABC 17 News before Monday night's vote he would be in favor of the new design. He said he grew up in Columbia and remembers playing on the courts as a child, something he described as a place of unity for the community.

For Johnson, the new design of the courts is bigger than basketball.

"If you look back at the history of Columbia we were segregated, this area down here, this downtown area...this is where the Black people had to live. Our businesses, our homes like this was our community," Johnson said.

Johnson said he's excited to re-build the park and some of the programs the city used to have at it. He said discussions are continuing about bringing back Moonlight Hoops.

According to city documents, the theme and the color blue were the most-popular ideas presented by residents during the public engagement portion of the project.

Columbia Resident Stephen Cooper said he's lived in Columbia his entire life and remembers playing basketball on the courts daily as a child. He said including the name "Douglass Bulldogs" on the court was fitting.

"This is history. You know, it goes way back. A lot of us come up through the projects down there so if you would name it anything else, there's no history there," Cooper said.

Renovations will cost roughly $900,000, with funding from the University of Missouri, the Veterans United Foundation and the 2021 Park Sales Tax. Planned upgrades also include new rims, LED lighting and a park shelter.

According to the city, $495,000 will come from a 2023 fiscal year grant, $321,000 will come from the park sales tax and $100,000 is being sourced from donations. Improvements to the courts are expected to begin immediately after approval and must be completed by September 2026 to meet grant requirements, according to Huffington.

Johnson said he believes the most important part of the process is that it was a community-led project. He said the process serves as a stepping stone for him and is hopeful the changes send a message.

"I hear so much they don't listen to us so what's the point of wasting our time? That's people's reasons for not voting, for not showing up for different things," Johnson said. "So, this was a process that was done and we came together and expressed how we felt about it and were able to get a different outcome."

Documents also state that Parks and Recreation has met with funding donors who want to add a Mizzou-themed basketball court honoring Cox in an alternate park location in the city. A decision on that will be made after the city finishes improvements to the Douglass Park courts, Huffington said.