A large chunk of a long-awaited park in east London has opened to the public, but the playground and community centre are still under construction, almost two years after they were supposed to be done.&nbsp;

Now open to the public are tennis and pickleball courts, a full basketball court, walking paths and a set of lounge chairs.&nbsp;

Also open is a ping pong table with a metal net; players need to bring a ball and paddles.&nbsp;

The park is located at&nbsp;1731 Churchill Ave.

Contractor out, city takes over $21M community centre project in east London

The City of London has ended its $21-million contract with Jasper Construction to build the East Lions Community Centre, a move that throws into doubt the final cost and completion date of a long-awaited project already a year overdue.

Jasper Construction is based in Concord, Ont., just north of Toronto. Within the space of a week, public sector clients in Guelph and Sarnia have cancelled contracts with the company to renovate large buildings.

Jasper Construction sign

Ground broke on the East Lions Community Centre in October 2017. Now the city has taken over the $21.4-million project from general contractor Jasper Construction.

East Lions community Centre

East Lions Community Centre is the talk of the neighbourhood again, but in a very different way

Already a year late with much work still to do, construction of the East Lions Community Centre has been fraught with challenges. Now they're hoping it will be done by spring.

Originally slated for completion in spring of 2019, city staff are now saying they're hoping  the community centre will open some time before spring of this year turns to summer.

East Lions Community Centre

But the park's soccer field and playground are still off-limits.&nbsp;

The grass needs to take root on the soccer field, and the playground is part of the East Lions Community Centre, which&nbsp;was supposed to open almost two years ago. According to the city,&nbsp;the soccer field will open next spring

"We are looking forward to opening the community centre and playground later this year," said Monika Guzy, a spokesperson for the City of London.

Guzy says the city&nbsp;will announce the official opening at a later date.

A ping-pong table is a unique feature in East Lions Park in London. It has a metal net so those who want to play just need to bring a ball and paddles. 

Ping Pong table at East Lions Park

Last year, the city fired the general contractor that was in charge of the project last July, when the project was a year behind schedule.&nbsp;

In a statement about the opening of the park, the city did not say when the community centre will open.&nbsp;

Although the East Lions Community Centre is headed toward completion, a look at the site shows there's much to be done. 

Players enjoy the newly-opened tennis courts at East Lions Park on Churchill Avenue in east London on Friday, June 18, 2021. 

East Lions Park partially opens as construction on overdue community centre continues

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