Ballin' in the Ghetto

A couple of weeks ago our Thursday night basketball comp got moved from the Powerhouse (Distinctive Homes Dome if you really want to be correct) to St Ives stadium at Port Adelaide. I can't really remember why, I think it had something to do with resurfacing the courts. Either that, or they realised they could make more money hiring the venue out to corporate clients.

So now we're at St Ives, and it kind of sucks. I've played here before, and it hasn't changed at all. Perhaps that's what seems vaguely depressing about the place - you play here for a while, then leave, get on with your life, make some new friends, start a new job, buy a new house - then you come back here and feel like you've instantly regressed ten years.

The main problems, as far as I can see it are:
1) Terrible lighting - it's light enough to play safely, but still dark enough to give off a sombre vibe.
2) Crappy rims - when you spend a lot of your time bombing away from the three point line, you really want soft rims that will - more often than not - give you a friendly roll. These don't fit that mould.
3) The size of the court - I can't prove this without the aid of a really long piece of tape, but I'm pretty sure the courts aren't full size.
4) The odour - a slightly musty smell that greets you as you walk through the doors.

It's not all bad though, there are a few benefits:
1) Probably the biggest advantage is that the stadium is only five minutes or so from my house. So the convenience is great.
2) Presumably since the comp organisers are aware of points one through to four above, they've lowered the cost from $9 a game to $7.50.
3) The snack bar seems to be at least the equal of the one at the Powerhouse, although since I don't eat mixed lollies during half time of our games anymore, that's of limited value to me.

Anyway we played there last night against Blaze. Who we rarely lose to, except when we played them in the semi finals last year, a game I'm still kind of bitter about. Last night we lost by one, but in our defense, we played the fiinal twenty minutes with four players after Ash injured his knee at the end of the first half. He's having an MRI on Monday, but it's terrible timing for him, having a ski holiday to New Zealand booked in less than a month . . .