The City of Dayton will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. today for its new pickleball courts, new playground equipment, repaved and improved basketball courts, and improved buildings at Gil Lynn Park, located at 203 Greendevil Drive.
First-grade students will gather around the new playground equipment for the event to use the playground equipment for the first time after the ribbon is cut. Pickleball enthusiasts will start playing on the new courts.
The City has invested more than $500,000 in capital improvements to the park this summer, most of which was paid for by the City’s Park Tax, plus $100,000 from Dayton Independent Schools for the new playground equipment, which cost $200,000.
“We are very fortunate to have seven great public parks in our City,” Dayton Mayor Ben Baker said. “Gil Lynn is one of our largest parks and our most active park, but it was starting to show its age and these recent improvements have made it a more inviting public space for our children, our residents, and our visitors.”
Mayor Baker said that because of its proximity to the high school and elementary school, the school district and its students are the heaviest users of the park.
The high school baseball and softball teams play their home games on fields at Gil Lynn Park.
In addition, the schools use the park for gym classes, recesses, and special events, and students also use the park after school and on weekends, Mayor Baker said.
Mayor Baker said he believe the new park improvements also will attract families from outside of City Dayton to the park, which is located next to two hiking and biking trails on the Ohio River that are part of the 11.5-mile Riverfront Commons trail system in Northern Kentucky.