Melrose To Dedicate New Amazing Grace Basketball Court

MELROSE, MA — Melrose’s newest recreational facility will be dedicated on Thursday in honor of Melrose teen Grace Zinck, who passed away last year.

City officials announced event plans last week, with a formal dedication and ribbon cutting for the Amazing Grace Basketball Court set for Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

Named in Zinck’s honor, the court is an outdoor half-court basketball facility located next to Melrose’s Fred Green Football field and close to the Melrose High School concession stand. It includes a bench and plaque dedicated to Zinck's memory.

Melrose students pitched plans for the court shortly after Zinck’s passing. They soon won funding through Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur’s annual Participatory Budget Contest, which gives Melrose High School students a chance to weigh in on how a portion of the Melrose mayor’s office budget gets spent.

The city has since augmented the original batch of participatory budget dollars with additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to bring the court project to fruition, as noted in the city’s announcement last week.

Zinck was accomplished and widely involved in a number of community activities. She earned the nickname of “Amazing Graze” over the years, counting Unified Basketball as one of her passions.

Zinck's former Unified Basketball teammates were prominent in the push for participatory budget money for a court in her honor, appearing in a video last year describing their proposal. Melrose High School students ultimately voted for the project to select it as the Participatory Budget Contest winner.

“Grace was a valued member of her family, Melrose, Melrose High School, the Unified Basketball team, and countless other organizations and groups that were lucky to have her touch their lives,” Mayor Paul Brodeur said in the city’s recent dedication/ribbon cutting announcement. “We are ready to celebrate the life of Grace.”

Unified Basketball Coach Matthew Manfredi said the team and broader Unified Basketball family are “thrilled” to see the Amazing Grace Court complete.

“It is a testament to her character and the amazing individual she was," Manfredi said in comments shared by the city last week.

Manfredi, who also serves as the Assistant Principal and Special Education Coordinator for Melrose’s Lincoln Elementary School, noted community work within the Unified Basketball family to help advance this court project for Melrose.

“We could not be happier to see this court open for all to use,” he said.

Ceremony plans this week will include remarks by Brodeur, Manfredi and Melrose High School Principal Jason Merrill after a ribbon cutting.

The unified basketball team will then conclude its slate of 2022 home games inside the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School gym with a game against Lynn Technical High School at 4 p.m.