After sitting on the bench for a couple of years, Maricopa’s next park has finally made its preliminary debut.

Maricopa City Council and the Parks and Recreation Committee held a joint meeting last night at the Maricopa Library and Cultural Center to preview and discuss plans for Park 48, a new 55-acre park just east of City Hall.

Previously called both Iconic Park and Civic Center Park, the planned space is vast, imaginative and colorful. Its centerpiece surrounds a 3.43-acre body of water dubbed Maricopa Wells Lake, framed by playgrounds, splash pads, rock-climbing areas and a zip line. Designers envision Sedona-style rock monuments and towering cloud-like shade structures, with sections named after popular Arizona attractions.

“It’s been a fantastic process, but one of the things we talked about was this love letter to Arizona, this love letter to Maricopa,” said Jeff Velasquez, principal landscape architect of J2 Design. “We want it to be a destination, a truly iconic space that isn’t really seen anywhere else through Arizona.”

The concept also includes picnic areas, an amphitheater opening to a sprawling event lawn, a plaza honoring Indigenous communities, a dog park and courts for volleyball, pickleball and basketball.

Where are the ballfields?

One thing missing from the park: baseball fields.

An earlier design centered on baseball and softball fields with a concession stand. Some residents and committee members still want that focus.

“That’s all very cool stuff … but we definitely need more fields,” said Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Kevin McDill. “And I look at that cloud — as cool as it is — that could probably build 10 fields just in that structure itself.”

Not everyone agreed. Committee member Devin Pitcher said while more fields would be useful, Maricopa needs something broader in appeal.

“I’m not a sports guy, but I just feel like most people aren’t concerned about fields,” Pitcher said, gesturing toward renderings of the splash pad and amphitheater. “They’re concerned a little bit more about stuff like this.”

Residents want variety, not just fields

Pitcher may be right. In an October InMaricopa reader poll about park features, residents favored diversity in park amenities.

Nearly 1 in 5 respondents said they wanted an amphitheater most, followed by a splash pad and swimming pool. Only about 10% wanted more sports fields or a running track, while covered playgrounds and another dog park ranked lowest.

Councilmember Eric Goettl added that zip lines topped his feedback list.

A pricey vision

Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr cautioned the design looked far more expensive than the city might afford.

“I think it’s really hard to have a discussion about this without having a cost associated with it because we have so many competing priorities,” Knorr said. “I mean, it looks expensive. It looks really expensive.”

Velasquez noted modern park budgets now start at $800,000 per acre, with large municipal parks like Copper Sky costing closer to $1.1 million per acre today.

When Copper Sky opened in 2014, its construction — including fields, dog park and complex — cost about $50 million, according to Parks and Recreation Director Rocky Brown. That same park today would cost about $200 million to build.

Still, City Manager Ben Bitter said the Park 48 design remains conceptual.

“Keep in mind, this is a vision,” Bitter said. “It doesn’t mean it’s the vision, and it doesn’t mean this is all there will be or could be at the site.”

Council and the committee directed staff and the design team to continue gathering feedback, advancing the master plan and launching a community survey on park priorities.