Hundreds of families turned out for the grand opening of Flamingo West Park in Cooper City. The 26.3-acre complex fills a void in the City’s recreational needs, offering four synthetic sports fields as well as beautiful walking trails, a fishing pier and an enormous shade-covered playground, along with a community meeting room and four pavilions.
“After years of having over-populated fields, it was finally time to expand and create Flamingo West Park,” states Cooper City Facility Coordinator Felicia Trainor. “This park not only alleviates the foot traffic on the fields of our neighboring parks, but the new turf prevents numerous flooding cancellations due to its updated drainage system.”
The new sports fields are a much-needed addition for Cooper City, which prior to the Flamingo West Park opening had only two other small sports parks.
“The other fields were constantly being overused and the spacing was undersized for the number of participants we have in our programs,” explains Trainor. “Due to the significant wear and tear caused to the fields, down time had to constantly be scheduled for field repairs. Additionally, one rainy day would potentially cause up to four days of game cancellations due to flooding. The new synthetic sports fields will provide optimal use to allow us to play year-round and with less maintenance.”
Trainor points out that the sports teams are not the only ones to benefit from the new park. All residents can enjoy the facilities at Flamingo West Park.
“None of our small parks with walking paths had restrooms which deterred individuals from getting out and getting active,” notes Trainor. “The creation of this park also provides pavilions for rental for birthday parties and other social gatherings, which we did not have available prior. This park was meant to meet all the milestones to encourage everyone in our community to meet us At the Park.”
Trainor says residents can rent the 560-square-foot community meeting room for private functions. It will also be available to Girl Scout troops, Homeowners Associations, Advisory Boards, and other local groups.
On opening night, one of the most popular features at the park was the new playground. The state-of-the-art facility features climbing structures, swing sets and multiple slides all housed underneath a 40 by 50-foot shade structure. The playground is ADA compliant and features wood fiber mulch for safety. For added security, it is surrounded by a chain link fence with accessibility gates.
- Flamingo West Park is located at 6201 Flamingo Road on the southeast corner of Flamingo Road and Stirling Road. Park hours are from 8am to 10pm daily. For more information go to www.coopercityfl.org.