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Deciding which of the city’s many engaging playgrounds to visit may become a bit harder, with massive upgrades at Thomas Memorial Park opening this weekend.
The new Thomas Memorial Park playground grand opening is scheduled for June 15 at 10 a.m., doubling the square footage of the site’s features after months of preparation.
“The contractor has worked really hard to meet our request to be ready for the dedication, so we appreciate all of the efforts that they made,” Community Services Director Amy Miller said.
Development on the 12-acre park at 411 Madison St. broke ground earlier this year after the Parks Advisory Board reviewed an abundance of public input, working with city staff and playground companies to design a modern playground that blends community feedback requests.
The playground itself has now doubled in size, incorporating the hill and tower features requested by Elgin’s youth with long slides stretching downwards to its open fields and an electronic game station. The park is ADA compliant and includes shaded structures and seating areas to keep cool in the summer months.
Thomas Park’s latest renovations only add to the ground’s long list of amenities. The new playground is accompanied by baseball and softball fields, a volleyball net, two soccer fields, a nine-hole disc golf course, restrooms, basketball court, walking trails, picnic tables, concession stand and grills.
Originally built in the 70s, the last time the playground saw redevelopment was in 2005 with almost $250,000 in grant money put to use. Improvements were made in 2023 to the park’s basketball court with a new surface, hoops, backboards and fencing installed.
Elgin’s Eagle Scouts have also shown care for the park, repainting the concession stand, replacing the boards on its softball field bleachers and adding signage.
The ribbon cutting and dedication will come with plenty of hot dogs, refreshments, games, crafts and competitions, alongside music courtesy of DJ Reese Boi.
Miller assured that there will be open street parking available for the Saturday morning affair, a great time to enjoy the new play features.
