City says bike polo not allowed on courts

A group of Manhattan residents play bike polo every Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the tennis courts in Manhattan City Park. However, the group might find itself without a suitable location to play.

Bike polo is a sport played by two teams of six bicyclists with polo mallets. Though the group currently uses the city's tennis courts, an official from Manhattan Parks and Recreation Department said the group does not have approval to play there.

Mike Buchanan, recreation superintendent, said bike polo is not permitted on Manhattan's tennis courts because the bicycles could damage the courts, and affect people who want to play tennis.

"We don't allow bikes or skateboards or roller blades or anything on the courts," Buchanan said, "It's not because we don't like bike polo; it's all about wear and tear on the surface."

Buchanan said the department had contacted the polo players to inform them that riding bikes was not allowed on the tennis courts.

Spencer Clark, sophomore in fine arts and founder of the group, said a man from the department came to examine the courts while the group was playing, but he did not find any damage caused by the bicycles. The man informed them riding bikes on the courts was prohibited but did not ask them to quit playing or to leave, Clark said.

Police officers stopped by several times to see what was happening, but no one asked the group to quit playing, Clark said.

The group has played at the basketball courts next to Marlatt Hall in the past, but those courts don't have lights for night play. Clark said now that it gets dark earlier, the group wanted to play at a lit location, and the city tennis courts are the only place the group could find with appropriate lighting.

For the past week, the lights did not come on at the courts. Clark said he believed the lights are simply not turned on during winter months, but it was possible they had been kept off to deter the group from playing there.

Clark said the group plans to change the time it plays, as there is nowhere with enough lighting to facilitate evening play.

Peters Recreation Complex told the players they would not be allowed to use its courts and listed reasons similar to the city's for closing its doors to the group.

"We probably wouldn't allow it on our courts, that's for sure," said Steve Martini, director of Recreational Services. "There could be damage to the courts from the mallets and the bikes, and people falling off their bikes."

Damaged tennis courts can have an adverse effects on the courts' potential to be used for playing tennis, Martini said.

Martini said if the Rec's tennis courts were damaged, K-State students would ultimately bear the cost of resurfacing the courts, which is a very expensive process.

Clark said he thinks the bike polo group uses Manhattan's courts far more than anyone else and before the players started using them, the courts were almost never used. The group plans to continue using the courts unless it is told it must find a new location, Clark said.