File photo
Joseph Granata, shown here playing bocce ball in Poway, used to have to travel all over the county to play. Now there's a bocce court in Encinitas.
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ENCINITAS – Bocce ball fans now have a free place to practice in Encinitas.
Courts opened last week at Oakcrest Park as a result of efforts begun more than three years ago by Joseph Granata.
Members of the community may recognize Granata as the custom tailor who has operated from the Lumberyard shopping center for the past 22 years. He said the city has been good to him, so he wanted to repay the kindness.
Bocce ball is the Italian form of lawn bowling.
When Granata initially promoted the courts to the City Council, clients and friends raised about $3,000. But he gave it back to donors after he realized how far he was from his goal. He began to give up hope that the courts would ever be built, he said, because the price tag was in the tens of thousands.
What: New bocce ball courts
Where: Oakcrest Park, 1219 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas
When: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Cost: Free
Information: (760) 633-2740
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“We're not going to collect that money,” he thought to himself.
Then, last year, a few community members heard of the effort and donated $35,000. Sierra Pacific West and Hubbard Construction stepped in to donate labor.
Now that the courts are here, Granata is gratified.
Through playing bocce ball, “You make a friend,” he said. “There's not an enemy with this game.”
Granata, 72, began playing bocce ball as a child in Italy. He has been a member of the Poway Bocce Club for many years.
He hopes to create the same atmosphere of camaraderie in Encinitas that he has experienced in Poway by organizing practices two evenings a week and eventually hosting tournaments.
EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune
The new bocce ball courts at Oakcrest park are open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
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In bocce, a ball the size of a grapefruit is rolled toward a smaller ball, called a pallino. Points are earned depending on how close the ball comes to its target. Players can be of all athletic abilities, which makes the game popular with families.
The new courts include two standard lanes that are each 12 feet wide by 76 feet long. The lanes are made of a red clay mix similar to a clay tennis court, said Chris Hazeltine, city recreation director.
The courts are open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and lighting is available on a timer. The space is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and players must bring their own equipment.
The courts replaced a sand volleyball court, Hazeltine said.
A friendship dinner to support the courts will begin at 6:30 p.m. May 3 at Pino's Cucina Italiana, 967 S. Coast Highway 101, Encinitas.
The cost is $32 a person, including tax and tip. Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to the city.
The dinner is being organized by the Sons of Italy La Costa dei Fiori.
For a reservation, call Frank Mangio by April 27 at (760) 632-1199.
