LENOIR CITY, Tenn. — Lenoir City Central Park is getting some new upgrades to their playground turf in coming months … thanks in part to grant money provided by Casey’s.
The turf included in the playground portion of the park has been in place since 2017, and in those eight years it has seen some fun-filled wear and tear. While repairs to the patches of grass have been plentiful, it was finally time to uproot the greens entirely in an effort to upgrade the space and give it a more durable, longer-lasting surface.
Lenoir City Mayor Tony Aikens told the Lenoir City Council that the replacement would be an expense ranging from $70,000 to $90,000; but thanks to a contribution from this national corporation with locations locally, about $10,000 of that bill will be paid for by Casey’s itself.
City Administrator Amber Scott Kelso told The News-Herald that Casey’s, as well as other big businesses in the area, are constantly partnering with the community to give back in meaningful ways such as this. She said that she thinks it’s “a great thing” to have corporations planting their flag locally to make their mark extend beyond the boundaries of one store or franchise.
The turf itself is artificial, slightly different from the material commonly found on baseball and football fields throughout the county. The park’s turf, however, is in a more constant need of repair due to higher foot traffic at all hours of the day.
With an increase of development and improvement of what Lenoir City Parks and Recreation Director Zach Cusick referred to as “turf technology,” the longevity of the material could far outpace its predecessor, depending on the volume of foot traffic.
“It should last ten plus years now,” Cusick said. “Even through artiifcial turf on current football fields, that’s even given about ten years, but they don’t see the amount of traffic that we do. They’ll see a handful of hours throughout the day, a handful of hours Friday and then nothing on the weekend. We’re seeing it every hour of the day, it’s covered up.”
Cusick also expressed an interest in applying for tourism-related grants for the park, as the pull for more projects directed at that location in general is a big one. With Central Park being ADA accessible, it marks the only one of its kind in the city, with just three parks in the greater Knoxville area having that same designation.
Cusick believes that the attraction draws out-of-towners looking to visit Lenoir City and spend money in the local economy, legitimizing it as a tourist destination in the eyes of the state. With the amount of playtime logged by kids already, every penny counts.
“It’s kids that, their imaginations run wild,” Cusick said. “And they use [the park] in every aspect that they can.”
Currently, Lenoir City is home to one Casey’s store on Broadway, with a new location recently receiving City Council approval last month. It is slated to be erected on a parcel of land situated between Highway 70 and Highway 321.
The recommendation to go to bid on the turf product received a unanimous vote from Lenoir City Council, with more updates expected to come in the near future. For now, this is the only major project expected to impact the Lenoir City Parks Department, though Kelso said maintenance and upkeep is always a concern for the city.
