MERIDIAN, Idaho — City of Meridian staff and park enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the opening of the new and improved Discovery Park located at 2121 E Lake Hazel Rd. in Meridan.
The park originally opened in 2017 with only 27 acres. It has now expanded to 64 acres with new amenities aimed at having something for people of all ages.
Steve Siddoway, the parks and recreation director for the City of Meridian, said this expansion makes it the largest park in the city.
On Friday, a large crowd of families and children gathered at the park for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the new features this park has to offer. The park features a new active area with six pickleball courts, two tennis courts, and basketball courts.
There is also a "teen area" that includes a skate park, a sand volleyball court, and a shelter with Wi-Fi. The park also added a couple of new attractions, a bike park and pump track, and three more softball fields, two of which will have lights.
Siddoway said the expansion of the regional park is part of the city's commitment to provide better services and a better quality of life.
"This brings some great new amenities to South Meridian, and it'll function much like the other large regional parks that we have, like Settlers Park in North Meridian or Kleiner Park in East Meridian," Siddoway said. "This will be the major new park for South Meridian and we're just super excited to open it."
The total cost of the park is about $14 million, and that money comes from impact fees paid by developers. So, new homes built in Meridian helped pay for this project.
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