$2M Donation Brings 'Mega Playground' To Margaret T. Hance Park

PHOENIX, AZ – Phoenix’s 32-acre Margaret T. Hance Park is soon to receive a 20,000 square foot playground, courtesy of the Fiesta Bowl’s $2 million donation. The “mega playground” will officially be called “Fiesta Bowl Play at Hance Park” and includes a small rock-climbing slope, shade structures, swings and a splash pad

The new playground is slated to open on the park’s west side in December 2020, which is also the 50th anniversary season of the Fiesta Bowl. “As a mom and a mayor, I am so grateful that we will have a first-class playground right where you all sit today,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said at Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony. She described the Fiesta Bowl’s monetary gift to the park as “an important and impactful step forward.”

Situated downtown on I-10’s Deck Park Tunnel, near the Japanese Friendship Garden and Burton Barr Phoenix Central Library, Margaret T. Hance Park now primarily includes open fields dotted with ramadas, a small playground and a dog park. Phoenix officials have been planning a major Park makeover for almost a decade, but were hindered by finances. The Fiesta Bowl donation is the project’s first large-scale financial steppingstone, reports azcentral.com.

Further future modifications to the park include additional shade structures and trees, a café, interactive water features, more new playgrounds and other amenities, bearing an $80-$100 million price tag. Public fundraising for the project is expected to start later this year. Read more on azcentral.com.