Basketball court to be built on Slovenian-Italian border
The humanitarian foundation of Goran Dragić, one of the greatest Slovenian basketball players of all time, will build a basketball court in Nova Gorica on the border with Italy, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
The two half-courts will symbolically connect the two countries and are expected to open in June as part of the European Capital of Culture hosted by Nova Gorica and its Italian neighbour Gorizia.
The basketball court will also bring together two basketball legends, Slovenia's Goran Dragić - Gogi and Italy's Luigi Datome - Gigi. It has thus already been named the Gogi&Gigi court.
It will be built in an existing park in the vicinity of Europe Square on the border. The ground will be lowered by around two metres, creating a few rows of seats around the court, the concept designer Saša Dobričič told reporters on 12 February.
The two half-courts will be placed in such a way that players, when shooting at one hoop, will be shooting towards Italy, and when shooting at the other, will be shooting towards Slovenia.
The facility will also serve as a venue for different European Capital of Culture events. It will be accessible to persons with disabilities.
QR codes on the court will take visitors to an online platform where they will find a collection of basketball training drills. A dedicated app will help them find other players and schedule a game.
Dragić, who has renovated several basketball courts around the country as part of his humanitarian project, is pleased that the project is advancing well.
"Our project will get a new dimension this year with the idea of connecting two cities and two countries and I'm especially glad that the former Italian basketball player Luigi Datome has joined us," Dragić said in a video call from the US, where he lives.
"I'm proud that together we will do something good for Nova Gorica, Slovenia, Italy and the European Capital of Culture," added Dragić, who officially retired from active basketball last year.
