SPRINGDALE -- Shaw Family Park might be the city's best-kept secret.
A couple of people were walking the paths Friday morning at the 120-acre park, which opened a year ago. A few children played at the playground and dogs swam in the ponds.
Chad Wolf, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, expects more people at the park as schools close for summer break.
"Especially around the splash pad on hot days," he said.
People just don't know about the park, said Vernon Tarver, marketing and special events director for the parks department. Most residents are focusing on the renewed downtown area with restaurants, art and trails, he thinks.
"Right now, everything new and hot is in the center of town," he said.
Brock Chaffin of Tontitown said Friday he wants to keep the park a secret. He brings dogs Rueben and Rae to the park twice a day.
"I just let them run in the open fields," Chaffin said of his dogs. "It's so uncrowded in the morning. They like critter-chasing -- birds and squirrels."
And Rae was wet from a swim in the pond.
When it's hot in the summer, Rueben will just lie down at the splash pad, Chaffin said.
Growing city
"It will take some time for people to get to know the park," Tarver said. "It has a lot to offer -- even without ball fields."
Four adult softball fields in the southeast corner of the park were part of the original plan. Shaw Family Park was built with $10 million from the city's 2018 bond program.
Shortly after Springdale voters approved the bond issue, the city had a chance to buy the building that now houses the city's Recreation Center, using $2.2 million from the bond money.
Prices on Shaw and other projects also came back higher than expected, said Mayor Doug Sprouse. So the city delayed construction of the ball fields.
Wolf in March told the City Council he needed more ball fields. The youth sports are growing quickly, he said.
Springdale baseball fielded 80 teams this year on 20 fields. The fields also are used by girl and adult softball teams, he said.
The council will consider the ball fields and improvements to other parks for the next bond issue in late 2023, Wolf said.
The city built Shaw Family Park with $10 million from the bond issue. The park was built on land bought with money from the 2012 bond program.
Sprouse said the city built the park in the northwest part of the city because leaders expected development there.
"A lot of rooftops have been added since the park started construction," he said.
Shaw Park was in the building plan for the Cottages at the Park immediately east of the park -- and the neighborhood is quite popular, Sprouse said. The subdivision includes its own pathway into the park, so residents can easily access the park's amenities.
City Council in 2021 added $135,000 to the Parks Department budget to hire three maintenance workers for the park and three temporary workers in the summer season to mow, weed, clean bathrooms and more. The council also approved about $121,000 from the city's capital fund to buy equipment such as mowers, weed trimmers, all-terrain vehicles and a pickup.
Amenities
Katie Bellamy of Cave Springs read aloud the features of the park to her children. "It has a splash pad, and the playground and bathrooms," she shared. "It seems like it has some really fun stuff."
Friday was the young family's first day at the park, Katie Bellamy said. She Googled it and saw it was near their home.
She said the biking trails caught her eye because Brooks Bellamy, 3, likes to ride his bike. Mom said she liked the wide paved trails -- and with a shout, Brooks took off on his bike to greet a friend.
Elsie Bellamy, 1, spent her time at the park in a swing.
Teresa Fogerty of Corinth, Miss., also found the park on Google and visited for the first time Friday. She is in Northwest Arkansas visiting daughters in Lowell and rural Huntsville, she said.
Fogerty brought her dogs Peanut and Roxie to play in the dog park.
"They thoroughly enjoyed it," she said.
Family fun
Tarver said the Parks Department tries to steer people to the park for its other amenities.
"On a pretty day on the weekends, it's pretty crowded under the pavilion for birthday parties," he said.
Other groups have planned 3-kilometer and 5-kilometer runs in the park.
School groups also have started to use the park, bringing busloads of students. But, because the park is big, it doesn't seem crowded, Tarver said.
Shaw is the city's second biggest park. J.B. Hunt Park is the biggest with 160 acres. The Randal Tyson Recreation Complex and the C.L. "Charlie" and Willie George Park both have roughly 80 acres.
The department also plans free events at the park.
Representatives of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will host a family-fun day Saturday . They will stock the pond and serve a cookout, Tarver said.
The city also offers family movie nights at the city's splash pads -- June 17 and July 29 this summer at Shaw. City Church NWA provides free popcorn and slushes for the kids, Tarver said.
Tarver said last summer's movies attracted 1,200 people when the weather was good and about 500 when it was hot.
Shaw Family Park in northwest Springdale, seen Friday May 27 2022, has been open one year. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)