The city of Mesa celebrated a major expansion of Red Mountain Park, 7745 E. Brown Road, on Sept. 5 with a brief program and ceremonial "goal kick." Event activities included soccer games and practices, kids playing tee-ball with players from the Oakland Athletics organization, cornhole, adaptive bocce ball and an interactive lacrosse experience.
"Mesa's parks are a point of pride in Mesa, and the expansion of Red Mountain Park showcases the dedication and vision of our residents," said Mesa Mayor John Giles. "Thanks to the voters, it is now the largest park in the city. I can't wait to see families enjoying this incredible space and creating lasting memories for generations to come."
The expansion includes 10 new multi-use fields for sports like soccer and lacrosse and four new baseball/softball fields. One multi-use field and one baseball/softball field will each have MuscoVision, offering live video streaming for family, friends and fans who cant attend the games in person. The baseball/softball fields each have high-tech scoreboards that were funded by the Oakland Athletics.
With completion of this phase, Red Mountain Park now has 314 acres of developed parkland. The park, which opened in 1988, also includes playgrounds, volleyball and pickleball courts, equestrian trails, two disc golf courses, a community fishing lake and a 76 thousand-square-foot multigenerational center.
"As a council member for this vibrant and dynamic part of Mesa, I am deeply proud to be part of this milestone," said Council member Goforth. "Having a park of this scale is an asset to our city. Thank you to our residents of Mesa for providing feedback. I know this will be the go-to place for families, friends, and neighbors to connect, stay active, and enjoy."
The 80-acre park expansion features several environmentally friendly measures, including playing turf that requires less water, perimeter landscaping designed to reduce irrigation requirements and maintenance and LED lights that minimize glare and are energy efficient. Several existing trees from the construction site were salvaged and reused within the park and 749 new trees were planted to help reach Mayor Giles' Trees are Cool Initiative goal of adding one million new trees by 2050.
"Red Mountain Park has always been a great park and now has even more of a wow factor and much more to offer our Mesa residents with the expansion on both sides of Brown Road," said Troy Campbell, chair of the Mesa Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Funding for the Red Mountain Park expansion was from the 2018 Parks Bond approved by voters. It was the largest project included in that bond.
