A $5.2 million improvement project at Rillito Park has been completed.
PIma County has added three new soccer fields with lighting. An existing field also had lighting added to it.
The park now has 11 full-sized soccer fields, nine of which have lighting.
“It’s a huge plus for us,” said Ted A. Schmidt, a Tucson attorney and president of the Pima County Junior Soccer League. “These fields are fantastic.”
Schmidt also said the additional fields give the county more opportunity to rotate use, ensuring lasting quality.
The additional fields make Rillito, at First Avenue and River Road, the largest soccer facility in the county. Kino Sports Park, with eight fields, is the next-largest soccer complex.
“We need more than three fields, but three fields is a start,” said Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson. Rillito Park is in Bronson’s district.
She said the park serves a wide swath of the community beyond the Foothills areas.
Other improvements include additional parking, new horse stables and new ramadas for a farmers market that takes place at the park every Sunday.
Funding for the project came from a 2004 bond that voters approved.
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said funding was originally intended for the city of Tucson to purchase land for a north-side park project.
Unable to find an appropriate location, the city asked the supervisors to amend the bond plan and use the funding for additional fields and other improvements at Rillito.
The park also has been slated for $1.7 million in funding in the proposed 2015 bond package.
Pima County voters will decide the fate of a seven-question, $815 million bond plan that includes $191.5 million in park improvements throughout the region in next month’s election.
Rillito Park would receive additional lighting for two soccer fields, pedestrian paths, playgrounds, concessions stands and a maintenance building.
The park also has seen other recent improvements, to horse racing facilities.
The Rillito Park Foundation, the county’s contractor for racing and other events, has upgraded the race track, improved grandstands, added new televisions and increased off-track betting.
Horse-racing events are held at the park in February.
