It was about a decade ago that Oak Park decided to extend their Park District basketball hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (https://www.oakpark.com/2018/04/24/park-district-of-oak-park-extends-basketball-hours). It was a few years ago that I, pushing 30, started playing again at Longfellow some evenings after work. My jumpshot has worsened since high school, it turns out, and I’m slower now than I care to admit. But it still made for enjoyable summer nights — full of movement and competition and laughter — as I was graciously welcomed into this community of hoopers.
These nights are cut short, however, when the Park District workers arrive at 8 p.m. to take down the rims. Even while some daylight remains, and the games are as lively as ever, it’s apparently time to shut it down. Why?
Longfellow is the only outdoor full court in Oak Park (https://pdop.org/recreationdestinations/basketballcourts). It has no lights, unlike a few of the two dozen tennis/pickleball courts, some of which have lights available until 10 p.m. (https://pdop.org/recreationdestinations/tenniscourts).
I’m a maximalist when it comes to promoting community participation in sports, so I’m glad Longfellow is getting even more pickleball courts (https://www.oakpark.com/2026/03/05/construction-starts-on-longfellow-park-including-new-pickle-ball-courts). The Aspen Institute’s Project Play has plenty of data and argumentation demonstrating the multifaceted benefits of youth sports (https://projectplay.org/youth-sports/facts/benefits). Plus, well, it’s just a lot of fun.
Maybe in the long run we should consider lighting some of the basketball courts in our neighborhood. In the meantime, my proposal is more modest: We should extend the basketball hours for as long as daylight allows. Sunset is around 8:30 p.m. this time of year, but there’s enough light remaining to push until 9 p.m. if the game demands. Perhaps we don’t need to take down the rims at all. Nature itself will tell us when it’s time to stop as night sets in.
So I ask, gently but seriously: Why do we let tennis and pickleball go until 10 p.m. but cut off basketball at 8 p.m? Is it noise restrictions? Is it something else? Is there a reason at all?
Matt Wiley
Oak Park