Desert Hot Springs is going ahead with plans to build a sports park providing new recreational opportunities for local youth. While the development of Eagles Sports Park has been met with enthusiasm, some residents are expressing concerns about the impact of construction on the city’s shelter animals.
The park will be 7.6 acres, and is to be located at the corner of Cholla Drive and Hacienda Avenue at Corporate Yard Park. Eagles Sports Park will be named after the city’s youth football league and high school mascot. The park features a baseball field, football field, a concession stand and includes walkways. The park will help address the shortage of athletic spaces in Desert Hot Springs, which have made it challenging to accommodate local youth sports leagues. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with its opening anticipated in 2026.
The park has been a long time promise from Mayor Scott Matas pending his reelection. Funding for this park was received through a $5 million dollar grant from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Clean California Initiative. The main goal of the initiative is to make our California communities cleaner while also providing employment opportunities. The official state website describes the project for the new park in Desert Hot Springs, “By creating safe, accessible green spaces, the Corporate Yard Park will serve as a model for the City’s larger plan to transform parks and sidewalks into spaces that improve the quality of life and connectivity for residents of Desert Hot Springs, as to create a more comfortable, walkable and greener neighborhood that provides urban cooling, water conservation and habitat benefits.”
While the city celebrates this addition, the location of the new park raises concerns for some residents. The Desert Hot Springs Animal Care and Control Center, which is currently stationed on the site, will remain in place. However, some community members worry that the noise from construction could cause distress to shelter animals potentially affecting their well-being and affecting their adoption opportunities.
At a recent Desert Hot Springs city council meeting, some residents showed excitement while others displayed a cause for concern. One resident stated, “It’s good you’re building the park for the baseball team and the children. There’s a lot of kids who get into a lot of trouble, so this park will be a good outlet for them”. However, another resident expressed, “I walk every morning and those dogs at the shelter are always going crazy. I have friends who live on the street over and they hear them constantly. I’m worried if we do start this park, the construction will drive the dogs crazy.”
As the city of Desert Hot Springs makes progress towards this long-awaited project, city leaders will need to balance the eagerness for a new recreational space with the well-being of the local shelter animals. For more information about this topic, visit Mayor Scott Matas’ and the Official State website.
