HARLINGEN — A $2.5 million amphitheater will stand as the “anchor” of the revamped Lon C. Hill Park, expected to stage concerts and events at the destination park planned as a regional outdoor family entertainment attraction.
The city’s multimillion-dollar super park will also feature a $727,950 walking trail, one of many exercise offerings proposed at the park expected to draw families from the across the region to help pump tourist dollars into the city’s shops and restaurants.
During a meeting last week, city commissioners met with members of the Harlingen Community Improvement Board, agreeing to dip into the board’s $6 million budget to fund the first features of the park’s proposed $4 million second phase.
Meanwhile, city leaders delayed their decision on whether to fund the park’s proposed $769,000 adaptive sports field along with as much as $3.7 million worth of proposed improvements to the Tony Butler Golf Course until City Manager Dan Serna presents a finance plan during the next joint meeting.
Amphitheater and trail
The amphitheater, to stand between the park’s all-inclusive playground and the Harlingen Boys and Girls Club, will feature a timber canopy along with fixed seating for 792, with room for 524 more on its grassy hill.
Officials also set aside $727,950 to fund a mile-long lighted walking trail which will wrap around Casa de Amistad and the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium.
The 10-foot-wide trail will feature a track made of decomposed crushed granite, Javier Mendez, the city’s parks director, said.
To help fund the project, Mendez said he’s applied to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a $500,000 grant.
‘Premier’ park
The expenditures marked the super park’s first since officials launched its $3.2 million first phase in October 2019.
“It should be our trajectory to stay on course with all these projects,” board Chairman Jesse Robles said during the one-hour meeting Friday.
“We did make a decision on this park to make it a nice park. It’s a premier park for the city. We don’t want to lose sight of that when we talk about what are the needs of this park and the vision that was put together for this park and we always want to be frugal and prudent about the way we spend our money.”
Budget concerns
Before board members cast their votes on the amphitheater’s funding, board member John Guevara questioned whether the expenditure would squeeze the board’s budget funded through an eighth-cent sales tax earmarked for so-called quality of life projects.
“The motion is to spend half of that on this one amphitheater project. Is that correct?” Guevara asked, referring to the board’s budget. “I don’t know if we have enough money to fund all these items we have on the agenda. Should we prioritize what we want done?”
In response, Robles said the meeting’s agenda listed the park’s proposed features in order of their priority, with the amphitheater and trail topping the list.
“We know that we have to be strategic on how we move forward with some of these items,” Robles said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Chris Boswell said Serna, who could not attend the meeting, had requested officials delay their decision on whether to fund the park’s proposed $769,800 adaptive field along with as much as $3.7 million worth of golf course improvement until he presents a finance plan during the next joint meeting.
Adaptive field
The park’s blueprints call for an adaptive sports field which officials plan to develop at the site of a 225-foot baseball park at the corner of Washington Avenue and J Street.
As part of the project, officials plan to install synthetic turf to turn the field into a sporting venue aimed at children with special needs.
The proposed sports park, which could become a venue for the Miracle League, which sponsors teams made up of children with special needs, could also stage Little League games while offering the nearby Boys and Girls Club a playing field.
Park’s first phase
Now, construction crews are putting the final touches on the destination park’s $3.2 million first phase.
At Lon C. Hill Park, a tall, arched gateway will be opening into the super park featuring a $279,025 entry court highlighting an entrance made up of a sprawling archway looming over stone columns.
Opening into a $554,545 center plaza, the park’s first phase will showcase a large pavilion and a lighted water fountain with a 52-foot diameter.
The first phase will also feature $587,957 worth of winding walkways leading to a pavilion, gazebo and restrooms.
