New park should draw tourism and dollars to city

The Maricopa City Council approved the site plan for city’s new regional park Tuesday, which will include tennis courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, lake, skate and dog parks, and more.

Economic Development Director Micah Miranda said after the council vote the facility is economically valuable to the city.

“This provides a large gathering point for the city for us to host concerts and other events that we didn’t have the chance to in the past,” he said.

“The quality of the sports fields will be a big tourism draw for us,” Miranda said. “This is going to be a great step for us, especially considering the way that the city has been growing with the addition of new businesses.”

Jeff Engelmann, vice president of J2 Engineering and Environmental Design, outlined the park site plan during Tuesday’s council meeting.

“With the city’s help, we gained public input in driving the overall design of the project,” Engelmann said. “We attended the Great American Barbecue, Youth Council, Movie in the Park, three city council meetings, in order to give residents the opportunity to express their wants and needs for the park.”

The park is under construction at Bowlin Road and John Wayne Parkway and is expected to be completed early next year.