With the clink of a soccer ball on the metal goal chains, Brooklynn Thompson threw her hands in the air and beamed with joy.
No one was keeping score, but the Thompson family was all smiles Thursday as they tested out one of Davenport’s three new multi-purpose sports courts available for basketball, pickleball and futsal players.
The City of Davenport held a grand opening of the multi-purpose sports field at Herington Park on Thursday, immediately before a seasonal Party in the Park.
New multi-purpose sports fields are now open at Herington Park, Cork Hill and Van Buren in Davenport, funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Currently, all of the courts are reserved for pickleball, basketball and futsal (a modified form of short-field soccer), but Davenport Parks Director Chad Dyson said they could also be used for deck hockey, volleyball or other sports.
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Dyson said baskets still need to be installed, but that’s the last thing the city is waiting for. Dyson said the city is planning some programs around the sports fields, such as a futsal tournament.
The three courts were funded as part of the city’s allocation of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Dyson said the courts together cost about $500,000 of the $2.5 million earmarked for park projects. In total, Davenport received $40 million from the ARPA grant program, which must be budgeted for by the end of the year.
“This is just a small part of a huge project that our staff has put together,” said Marion Meginnis, 3rd District Supervisor. “…Staff have done a tremendous job in all departments… putting together great projects that we would not have been able to do without some of these funds.”
