Dundee Township Park District’s Rakow Center gym is closed to the public through Jan. 23 so that new equipment can be installed, officials said.

Long gym curtins and basketball court amenities at the Carpentersville facility are being replaced at a cost of $112,225, according to park district Deputy Director Ross Bertone.

The curtains are about 13 years old and are worn and fraying in multiple areas, Bertone said. Portions of the basketball hoop systems are no longer operating and the manufacturer has discontinued the replacement parts needed to repair them, he said.

The curtains separating the basketball courts from the running/walking track and dividing the court space at the Rakow Center in Carpentersville is being replaced, requiring the gym to be closed through Jan. 23. (Dundee Township Park District)

“The basketball backboards and rims were replaced in 2011,” Bertone said. “The basketball hoop supports and controls are original from when the center first opened in 1989.”

All six rims, backboards and lifting mechanisms responsible for raising the hoops to the ceiling and adjusting the rim heights will be replaced, he said.

“The basketball equipment will look the same, but the lift and rim‑height adjustment systems will be upgraded. Currently, raising the hoops or adjusting the rim height requires manual operation,” he said. “The new system will be fully electronic, allowing these adjustments to be made with a simple touchscreen button.”

The curtain separating the gym floor from the running and walking track that surrounds it as well as a dividing curtain that can separate the gym floor into two sections will be similar to what is being replaced, he said. The new dividing curtain also will be touchscreen-controlled.

Georgia-based H.E. Hodge Co. is overseeing the installation work of equipment manufactured by Indiana-based Draper Inc.

Although the gym is closed, all other facets of the Rakow Center remain open and operating on their regular schedules. Patrons who want to use gym facilities during the Rakow closure can do so at the park district’s Randall Oaks Recreation Center, 500 N. Randall Road, West Dundee.

At Randall Oaks, the free walking/running track is located above the gym floor and open during the center’s business hours.

And as is true at the Rakow Center, the gym floor at the Randall Oaks can be used for free at various times by Dundee Township fitness center members or for a fee for nonmembers. Fees vary per scheduled activities.

Fitness center memberships at both facilities include use of the fitness rooms, track, gym and classes as well as the sauna, whirlpool and lap swim times at Rakow’s indoor pool.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/08/rakow-closed-carpentersville-basketball-curtains/