Park to feature cricket, pickleball

A regulation-size cricket ground will highlight a new park in southwest Bentonville, officials said.

Creekside Park is set to open May 13. It is on a 25-acre site on Southwest 28th Street and will connect to a 1.6-mile trail that runs from Southwest 28th Street to Southwest Greenhouse Road, Parks and Recreation Director David Wright said.

Other amenities will include two city firsts — a lighted pickleball complex and a lighted dog park — along with a destination playground and splash pad with slides, according to the city. A destination playground is more interactive for parents and children, adds more play value and is not what used to be a typical setup of swings, slides and equipment, Wright said.

A cricket ground came about because of community involvement in the sport through the years, Wright said.

“You go to Phillips Park on, say, a Thursday night; they are not playing baseball. They are playing cricket,” he said.

The city’s parks master plan had the cricket ground being built at Memorial Park, but players suggested it be placed at the new park because many of them live on that side of town, Wright said.

Cricket is the second-most popular sport in the world after soccer, according to CricketWorld.com. USA Cricket claims cricket is currently played by more than 200,000 Americans.

Ryan Hollingsworth, a city Parks Advisory Board member, said his favorite part of the park is definitely the cricket ground.

“It is going to be a huge hit with the community, not just for those that play cricket, but also those that want to watch,” he said. “The backdrop is beautiful and there will be natural seating on a hill that surrounds the cricket pitch. There will also be some very neat art that displays a cricket pitch theme.”

Sreenivas Parise has played cricket since he was a kid growing up in south India. He and others have played cricket on various baseball fields around the city for more than 20 years.

Cricket is like a religion in countries such as India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, he said. About 600 people in Northwest Arkansas play cricket, he said.

“This is a dream come true,” he said of the designated cricket area at the park. He said the ground will be ready in June or July after the grass grows in.

The park is adjacent to Osage Creek Elementary and Creekside Middle schools.

“We’re grateful to be able to include the new park as a place of play for our Camp Explore students this summer and our nearby neighborhood schools,” School District Superintendent Debbie Jones said. “Undoubtedly, this area will bring joy to children for generations to come.”

The city has a $7.98 million agreement with Flintco to build the park. About 85% of the project will be paid from fees developers pay before receiving a certificate of occupancy. The other 15% will be paid by grants from the Walton Family Foundation, including $1.4 million for the trail connection, Wright said.

A late add to the project was the city’s first outdoor, lighted pickleball complex.

Bid plans didn’t call for pickleball courts. However, since construction started in November 2021, there has been an increase in demand for access to the sport, driving the request for courts, Wright said.

Osage Park north of Lake Bentonville has eight pickleball courts. The park is a community space provided by the Peel Compton Foundation.

The cost to add the courts at Creekside was $634,952 with the Walton Family Foundation providing $261,000, Wright said. The grant money helped drive the size of the pickleball complex from four to eight courts, he said.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America. Participation nearly doubled in 2022, increasing by 85.7% year-over-year and by 158.6% over three years, according to the Sport and Fitness Industry Association.

“So many people can play pickleball,” Wright said. “It’s for all different skill levels. It does not discriminate. It’s not a difficult game to play.”

The lighted dog park also will be a much-needed addition to city park amenities, Wright said.

“You get to about 5:30 p.m. later in the year, and it’s dark, but it’s still warm outside and people are not ready to go home yet,” he said of people who are out with their pets.

The city’s parks master plan suggests four dog parks, one in each of the city’s four quadrants, Wright said. The city also has dog parks on the North Bentonville Trail and at Orchards Park, but those are not lighted.

There’s also a dog park at Osage Park. The Walton Family Foundation built the park, and it’s maintained by the Peel Compton Foundation. The park is open to the public, but isn’t a city park, Wright said.