Forest Park Forever

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Public Invited to Open Houses on Basketball in Forest Park

Dominik Jansky

Initial concepts, interactive activities part of events at Forest Park, Dunn Marquette, O’Fallon Park YMCA, the Heights

ST. LOUIS, Missouri — The City of St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry and the nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever invite the St. Louis region to see the latest concepts and share input on plans for basketball courts in Forest Park at four upcoming open houses. The two organizations, which partner to restore, maintain and sustain Forest Park, are collaborating on the goal to add basketball to Forest Park’s recreational amenities.

The open houses are part of the community engagement process that collects public input before any major capital updates to the Park, under the guidance of the Forest Park Master Plan.

In the fall of 2022, project planners visited community basketball courts in the region in an effort to form a better understanding of what features would help this amenity succeed in Forest Park. An online survey also collected community input on what features visitors and potential visitors would want to see.

Open House Schedule

Now community members will get to see and weigh in on design and amenity possibilities at four open houses, from 4-7 p.m. on the following dates (NOTE: The event in the Visitor and Education Center in Forest Park was originally scheduled for Jan. 25, but postponed due to the winter storm and rescheduled for Feb. 1):

Each open house will include interactive boards where visitors can weigh in on their preferred amenities, discuss the project with team members and complete a survey. These events will also include interactive art and basketball activities. At the Heights on Jan. 26, the Richmond Heights Fire Department will tip off against the Police Department while Y98 radio host Julie Tristan will emcee the event. The open houses at Marquette Recreation Center and the O’Fallon Park YMCA will include community basketball games.

City leaders and Forest Park Forever look forward to the day when such games can be played in Forest Park, which was named the Best City Park in the country by USA Today.

Community engagement meetings during fall 2022 helped the project team develop initial concepts to share with the Forest Park Advisory Board and at the upcoming open houses.

“On any given day in Forest Park, you’ll see park visitors running and biking, playing rugby and soccer, handball and softball, golf and tennis amid the backdrop of 1,300 beautiful acres,” said Greg Hayes, Director of the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry. “The goal of this project is to have basketball in the Park as an enjoyable and integral part of the Park’s recreational activities.”

“Hearing directly from community members has been essential to each restoration of Forest Park’s historic amenities,” said Lesley S. Hoffarth, President and Executive Director of Forest Park Forever. “Now with the addition of basketball, we’re excited to have the St. Louis community experience yet another popular amenity in the Park.

In recent years, this community engagement process has been instrumental in guiding the renovation of the Oakland Avenue Playground and the addition of the Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape, which has introduced thousands of children to nature in the first 18 months since it opened.

Many of Forest Park’s athletic fields and courts can be traced back to Dwight Davis, the City’s Commissioner of Parks in the early 1900s, who was a proponent of recreational activities and opened the park’s golf course in 1912. By the 1920s, fields and courts for sports like tennis, soccer, baseball, handball and cricket were added. Since the Master Plan was approved by the City of St. Louis in 1995, major recreational changes have included reconfiguring the golf courses, upgrading rugby and soccer fields at Emerson Central Fields and upgrading baseball and softball fields at Aviation Fields. In the near future, plans to build basketball courts and to transform the Steinberg Pavilion and Rink into a year-round destination will create new activity options for visitors and expand the Park’s appeal.

Proposal, Design and Review Process

Capital projects in Forest Park must go through a public review process outlined in the Forest Park Master Plan. The Forest Park Advisory Board, a public board of citizens established as part of the Master Plan, reviews each proposed project at three key stages in a nine-step design process. For the next phase of this project, input from the open houses will be used to refine design and concept direction before the next presentation to the Forest Park Advisory Board. The goal is to begin construction on the courts in late 2023.

To keep up with the latest news and milestones on this project, visit forestparkforever.org/basketball.

 

About Forest Park Forever

Founded in 1986, Forest Park Forever is a private nonprofit conservancy that works in partnership with the City of St. Louis and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry to restore, maintain and sustain Forest Park, as one of America’s great urban public parks for a diverse community of visitors to enjoy, now and forever. Forest Park Forever has led major fundraising efforts to restore many landmark destinations in Forest Park, including the Emerson Grand Basin, the Boathouse and the Jewel Box.

In 2017, the organization completed a major fundraising campaign securing $139 million for Park restoration projects and an expanded endowment.

Today, Forest Park Forever maintains Forest Park with the City of St. Louis; raises funds for and helps manage capital restoration projects called for in the Forest Park Master Plan; delivers experiential educational opportunities to teachers, students and adults; and provides information and guides for the Park’s 13 million annual visitors. Not part of the Zoo-Museum Tax District, Forest Park Forever is supported by private donations from throughout the community, including its 7,000 members, 1,100 volunteers and many leading community and corporate partners.

Connect with us at facebook.com/forestparkforever, twitter.com/forestpark4ever and instagram.com/forestparkforever.

 

About Forest Park

Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, is considered one of the nation’s greatest urban public parks. The Park’s 1,300 acres feature beautiful landscapes sprinkled with forests, ecosystems, nature reserves, lakes and streams, as well as five of the region’s major cultural institutions and endless opportunities for recreation. Forest Park attracts 13 million visitors each year, making it the sixth most visited urban park in the United States. In 2022, Forest Park was voted the Best City Park in the country in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards.