McALLEN — There are 181 new reasons to go to the Blanca E. Sanchez Inclusive Park.
A new parking lot, featuring 181 new parking spaces, is now open for the public’s use at the all-inclusive park, and it also serves the McAllen Youth Baseball Complex.
Though it’s been completed and open since October, city officials celebrated its construction with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, saying it was the culmination of four years of added amenities to that location.
The $529,865 project, located on the north side of the baseball complex, came about because of the growing number of visitors to the area.
“We have a baseball complex and an all-inclusive park that’s near here, and so when you combine all these people at peak hours, there’s a need for parking,” McAllen’s Director of Engineering Eduardo Mendoza said.
“Before this was done, people would park on the grass,” he added. “Now you can come and you can enjoy — you can park reasonably, your car stays clean, there’s no worry about where to park.”
The new parking is just the latest of the amenities offered at the park.
“We didn’t just build a new parking lot here at the baseball complex,” McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez said. “We continued to improve the facility for everyone in our community for those who use and visit the complex.”
The park also now has a pedestrian route that connects to the walking trail at the baseball complex.
“So if someone doesn’t play baseball but wants to get in their steps, enjoy the park atmosphere and stay healthy, the trail provides that, and this connecting route allows them to get started straight from this parking lot,” Rodriguez said.
Additionally, the drainage and stormwater management system for the baseball park were improved to reduce runoff impact on 29th Street.
“This is an all-inclusive park that we’re celebrating here behind me, but there was a lot of amenities that we needed to make it right,” Rodriguez said, “and today, I think, is a culmination of all of those amenities that we figured we needed.”
McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos praised the work of city staff that allowed the area to improve over the years, including the opening up restroom facilities.
“Just four years ago, this park was opened and within those four years, it’s amazing what has happened,” Villalobos said. “We have had to build different things because our community requires it.
“When there’s a need, our city jumps and takes care of the issues,” he said.
