• Home
• News

5 October 2026  5 min read

Using the beauty of basketball to positively impact Portsmouth

Known as a place of recreation for the people of Portsea Island, the park now has two new 3x3 basketball courts, which have already seen a summer of action.

Having co-lead the transformation of Orchard Park in the city five years earlier, founder of Chain Net Craig Hughes has worked with Councillor Russell Simpson, Portsmouth City Council, Mountjoy, artists Seekers Create, Artform, Spike, Alice Rose and Bal and Basketball England to complete this latest regeneration project.

The shape of the court was changed to accommodate new fencing, walkways and two entry points to ramp up safety and accessibility were added, and, with the help of BE and #ProjectSwish, top-of-the-range posts, backboards and hoops were installed.

The hard tops were then finished with striking pink and blue colourways painted by local volunteer parents and players.

"Everyone's commented on the colours that we've gone for,” said Hughes who spent much of his youth playing on the courts.  

"They’re so much simpler this time because whilst the Orchard Park design was beautiful it’s been so much harder to maintain. So, this time we've gone for two block colours, and we've got the colour codes so we can keep the court looking fresh."

Alexandra Park's new 3x3 basketball courts

Positive contribution to the area

Alexandra Park sits in Hilsea and according to Hughes is touted to be the sports ward for Pompey.

There’s the Mountbatten Leisure Centre, where Portsmouth FC Basketball Club played their home games in the 1980s, a bowls clubs, a running track, plus indoor centres for gymnastics and tennis.

Now the basketball courts have been launched back to the public, Hughes sees it as Chain Net’s contribution to making it a nicer area.

"There used to be a lot of antisocial behaviour and people mucking about by the courts because they were in a secluded part of the park. But now it’s been overtaken by basketball players, and all of that has just been pushed away.

"The surrounding walls were absolutely hammered with graffiti too. So, we’ve worked with local artists to put up murals that complement the court.

A promise kept

Hughes, who is head basketball coach and lecturer at City of Portsmouth College Sports Academy, started Chain Net Apparel in 2018 initially as a basketball brand, selling t-shirts and merchandise to connect basketball fans.

But the Portsmouth-native knew he could do more and after getting stuck in to renovate Orchard Park back in 2021, made a promise to himself to work for the good of the sport, which had given him so much as a junior athlete playing for the likes of Solent Stars (before they became the Kestrels).

Chain Net was converted into a CIC in 2022 and all the money that it makes goes into improving the local basketball scene, which Hughes has focused on 3x3 after becoming fascinated by it on a trip to Poland.

"I used to work at Solent University as a basketball coach, and I took a team out to Poland for a 3x3 tournament. And if we weren’t playing, I would just sit there all day and watch all the games because I was fascinated by it. I love the environment that 3x3 creates."

Completing the Alexandra Park project was therefore another essential piece of the puzzle of consistent opportunities for young people to play the short format of the game.

Chain Net Apparel founder Craig Hughes (left) with Glasgow 2026 3x3 gold medallist Ashley Hamilton

Ashley Hamilton inspires

For age groups 11-18, Hughes runs 3x3 camps and tournaments, especially in the breaks around the National Basketball League, i.e. Christmas, Easter and summer, as well as regular weekly sessions because the principles, tactics and strength and conditioning are so different compared with 5v5.

Recently, he invited Glasgow 2026 gold medallist and London 3x3 star Ashley Hamilton down to inspire the young 3x3 stars of Portsmouth, giving them a taste of what’s possible.

"He came down to our 3x3 camp and brought out the Commonwealth Games gold medal, and you could hear the kids gasp, like ‘wow’. To have an elite English 3x3 athlete in front of them that can show them the depth of the opportunity, and for them to hear the stories first-hand, a lot of them are thinking ‘where could this potentially take me’."

Hughes says that currently he is getting his biggest joy by putting on 3x3 tournaments and introducing more young people to the format.

But he does have a bigger picture in mind of linking the 3x3 scene together and helping local players play in the biggest tournaments the UK has to offer.

He’s also got an eye on an abandoned tennis court in Alexandra Park that he says could easily hold three to four more 3x3 courts.

For now, though, as he reflects on how far he’s come, he remains happy that he kept his promise to use the beauty of basketball to positively impact people's lives in his hometown.

Follow Chain Net Apparel

#ProjectSwish 

Images - Joe Watson and Gary Robinson