By this time next year, Surprise residents will be using the new Countryside Park.

The city of Surprise broke ground May 25 on the park, located north of Countryside Recreation Center and Elementary School at the southwest corner of Greenway Road and Parkview Place.

The new park’s primary use will be to facilitate youth sports. Residents can expect eight youth multipurpose fields, lighting, restrooms and parking.

This fenced-in park will be situated right north of Countryside Elementary School, 15034 N. Parkview Place, and across Greenway Road from Valley Vista High School, 15550 N. Parkview Place.

It will help relieve activity at Mark Coronado Park, another eight-acre park in the City Center that is heavily used with youth sports, especially soccer.

The eight-acre project will have approximately 275,000 square feet of turf. That’s enough to fit eight multipurpose fields that can house multiple sports leagues. Those include soccer, T-ball and football.

Not only can the fields be converted for different sports, they can also be switched from north/south facing to east/west facing.

Two regulation soccer fields can also fit into the space if needed.

A restroom building is also part of the project.

The city’s Land Development Ordinance requires 275 parking spaces at the site, but plans call for 400 spaces. 

The groundbreaking comes at a time when the city has heated up discussions about developing a $64 million regional park to the west side of Surprise.

The city has contracted with Willmeng Construction and Kimley Horn Planning and Design for the construction and design of the Countryside Park project, which is scheduled to be complete early 2023.

In a news release, city officials thanked the Dysart Unified School District and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission for their efforts and assistance with this project.

For information on Countryside Park, call the Surprise Parks and Recreation Department at 623-222-2000.

For information or questions related to construction on this project, call the Willmeng Construction project hotline at 602-532-6250.