The City of Parkville received a $1 million Platte County Parks and Recreation Partnership Grant to assist with constructing new multipurpose sports fields in Platte Landing Park.
Funding for the grant was made possible with the Platte County park sales tax, which was renewed by the voters in 2020.
The Parkville Parks Master Plan, adopted in 2016 following extensive public outreach, proposed expanded multipurpose fields in Platte Landing Park to replace the neighboring fields in English Landing Park as part of a long-term strategy to upgrade both riverfront parks. The location of the existing fields will be reclaimed for other open space-enhanced amenities set forth in the plan, including a central lawn near the riverfront, a Missouri River overlook, a Veteran’s Memorial Plaza and other multipurpose open green spaces.
To help fund the improvements outlined in the plan, the city submitted a ballot question to residents in April 2019 for a one-half cent sales tax to provide long-term funding to improve park facilities and to help ensure the sustainability of the Parkville parks system.
Following voter approval, the Board of Aldermen and the Community Land and Recreation Board (CLARB) set priorities for use of the revenue, including construction of the fields. A portion of the revenue from the sales tax, along with the Platte County Partnership Grant, will be used to construct the fields.
Construction of the multipurpose fields will provide more active recreation facilities in Platte Landing Park, including additional baseball and multipurpose fields for such uses as youth soccer, football and lacrosse. They will help address demand for fields and provide an opportunity to practice and play games in our own community.
The city is in the process of retaining the services of professional consultant team to assist with the design. Once the team has been assembled, work sessions will be held with the Parkville Board of Aldermen and CLARB to initiate the design process.
City officials say various studies, including a traffic study, will be completed to determine the overall impacts of the proposed fields and assist in the development of a design concept for the fields. The work sessions will be open to the public. The city also intends to have public input meetings where the public has the opportunity to view any plan proposals, ask questions and provide comment to the board of aldermen prior to approving a final design.
To view a fact sheet for the project and to follow project updates, visit parkvillemo.gov/community/parks/plp-multipurpose-fields/.