"Steve K" wrote in message
...
I bought my young son an outdoor basketball hoop, the kind where you
fill the base with water.

Well, winter is coming and my gut feeling tells me to empty the water so
it doesn't freeze and expand, possibly breaking the plastic base.
Without water in it, the stake that holds it to the ground just doesn't
seem good enough to keep it from falling over and seriously hurting
someone. I really have no where to lay it down. I'd rather it stay where
it is. I don't really want to put sand in it.

Any thoughts? Is it okay to just leave the water in it during winter?

Thanks

My son's got one of those. The top is almost flat, enough so that we were
able to use paver stones for weight in the winter. I wasn't comfortable with
leaving the water in it.