Valley Parks and Rec debuts renovated green spaces

BY SAM VISE

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

VALLEY — The Valley Parks and Recreation Department recently completed a series of renovations to its green spaces surrounding the Valley Sportsplex campus. 

The project, completed in partnership with Milton Land Management, targeted the areas surrounding the park’s amphitheater and tennis courts. 

Key additions included cleared water access for fishing, a cleaner perimeter around the tennis courts and a brand-new walking trail adjacent to the amphitheater. 

“The amphitheater had a lot of overgrowth, so we got it cleared up so people can fish,” Parks and Rec Director Jon Neal said. “We hope to have a fall music series there. We also cleaned up around the tennis courts and created a walking trail.”

While the bulk of the project is complete, Neal said crews will finalize the walking trail in the coming weeks with the addition of gravel, a dedicated trailhead and a small pedestrian bridge. 

“The trail is going to be named after our longtime employee, Cooter Williams,” Neal said. “So, it’ll be his walking trail.” 

Neal said he does not know the exact distance of the trail, but he estimated it to be a quarter of a mile long. 

The goal of the revitalization project, Neal said, was to utilize more of the Sportsplex and encourage community members to spend time outside. 

“We had an amphitheater that sat right next to us and sat dormant, and I wanted to be able to utilize that space,” Neal said. “We also have a pond for the backdrop, and I thought people would enjoy fishing down there. They may not be able to catch anything major, but fishing is about relaxation anyways. [People can] just go out there, relax for a little bit and utilize the space.”

To bring that vision to life, Parks and Rec partnered with Milton Land Management out of Seale, Alabama. 

“Immediately, they were speaking different terminology than others who came out,” Neal said. “I had a picture of how I wanted it to look, and they wanted to educate me on how they were going to get there and why they had to do it that way … what would work, what would not work, what piece of equipment they were going to use. That was very insightful. So, when they came back as the lowest bidder, I was like, ‘Oh man, thank you, because that’s who I really wanted to use.’”

Neal said the project exceeded his expectations, and Milton Land Management went “above and beyond” the vision he had for the project. He also said it was completed fairly quickly.

“I try to move pretty fast, so I thought about it over a weekend back in early June, and we were able to finish it last week,” he said. 

Neal said driving into the Sportsplex campus now and seeing the cleared area around the tennis courts, pond and amphitheater makes the quick turnaround worth it.

“I love it,” he said. “I get to drive in and see the pond, see that it’s cleared up, and it just puts a smile on my face.”

The Valley Sportsplex, located at 130 Sportsplex Drive in Valley, is open daily from dawn to dusk.