Water sliding, fitness classes, lap swimming, crocheting… these are just a few of the activities that can be enjoyed at the brand new Clark Park Community Center & Pool, which will mark its grand opening on Saturday, April 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Community members are invited to celebrate the opening with a ribbon cutting, activities for all ages, refreshments and free open swim in the heated pool, a city release explained. The community center is located at 1730 S. Roosevelt St.

The grand opening will signify the first time children and families will be splashing around at Clark Park for more than 15 years after it was closed in 2008 amid the Great Recession, the release explained. The 10-acre park was originally constructed in 1949, and a swimming pool was added in 1974.

Throughout its history, the park has served as a gathering place for the community, hosting several neighborhood associations and the Clark Park Community Garden. It will once again serve as a key hub for connectivity and play with the newly constructed facilities, the release stated.

Facility features

The community center boasts four modern classrooms, which offer space for a variety of activities and programs. Classes currently offered include exercise and fitness, martial arts, childhood education, crochet, Spanish, yoga and more. The center will host its first summer camps for youth this year. The rooms are also available to be reserved for meetings and social events.

The new pool facility features a zero-depth entry, a 17-foot spiral water slide, five lap lanes and several shade structures. The grand opening will kick off the facility’s pool season, which will offer spring hours through May 25, with summer hours beginning May 26 through July 28. 

Admission fees after the grand opening are free for children under 2, $0.75 for children 2-12 years and $1.25 for teens and adults 13 and older.

(Courtesy Tempe History Museum)

A LithoMosaic art piece by Nicole Mueller and constructed by Tempe-based company Meltdown Glass greets guests as they arrive at the facility. 

The colors in the 750-square-foot mosaic, which are inspired by the desert landscapes of Arizona, flow throughout the center through Mueller’s kiln-formed glass design that appears in the main entry and hallways, the release detailed. 

The park portion of the complex, which reopened in early 2023, received a brand new adaptive playground area, rubber play service designed by Tempe artist Sachi Kale, a new ramada for community gatherings, updated landscaping and lighting, upgrades to the basketball court and baseball field, and a new location for the community garden.

A project born from the community

Community members have been meeting with city staff on Clark Park improvements since 2018 to help develop a preferred concept for Clark Park and its renovation and upgrades, according to the release. 

Community input included a survey of Holdeman Elementary School’s students on their ideas for playground equipment. Another community survey helped guide the programs that are currently offered at the center.

Tempe Mayor Corey Woods stated in the release, “The new community center and pool are a reflection of what the neighbors and this community truly envisioned, and I’m excited to see how this center will bring people together to create memories for decades to come.”

“We saw the need that existed in this community and I’m so thrilled we can bring this important, vital gathering space back to Clark Park to be enjoyed for future generations, just as it was for many who remembered growing up in this neighborhood,” Vice Mayor Jennifer Adams stated in the release.

Over the last several years, city council has been increasing reinvestments in parks, streets, utility lines and more. Known as Refresh Tempe, this initiative aims to add and maintain Tempe amenities and infrastructure in order to improve quality of life, the release added.