Cary's Lions Park reopens following renovation project

Lions Park in Cary has reopened after a renovation project, the Cary Park District announced Thursday.

Improvements to the 105-acre park include sports field renovations, a refurbished plaza with a picnic shelter, new benches and bleachers and the renovation and expansion of the bathrooms and concession building, according to the park district.

The park had been closed during construction. The playground near the ball fields also reopened, the park district said.

Restrooms will remain closed while the district puts on the “finishing touches,” and until then, portable washroom facilities are located near the fields, district officials wrote in an update.

The project had been in the works since 2016 and became part of a major parks overhaul plan.

The park district board voted last year to sell
$3.5 million in general obligation park bonds in order to pay for "land condemned or purchased for parks, for the building, maintaining, improving and protecting of the same and the existing land and facilities of the district, including, but not limited to, renovations at Lions Park and Kaper Park," according to minutes from the board's April 26, 2018, meeting.

Kaper Park work included the construction of a new, accessible play structure, picnic shelter, splash pad, bathrooms and a concession stand, according to the park district website.

Kaper Park renovations aren’t yet complete, according to the district website.

Lions Park is 105.4 acres. An original 39 acres was acquired in 1974 by agreement with the Village of Cary.

In 1992 an additional
66.4 acres was purchased using a Federal HCRS Grant. The southern portion of the park is rough and natural featuring several wetlands. The northern portion of the park features a peninsula walking trail, has athletic fields and play equipment, and is used for a wide variety of large community events, according to the park district's website.