Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.
On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the city opened the newest addition to Heroes Regional Park. Heroes Park is 88 acres, and the sports complex uses about 30 acres of the total acreage. The week prior to its opening Councilmember Dianna Guzman and I toured the complex. My thanks to Mike Keane, Assistant Director, Parks and Recreation and Fred Sanchez, CIP Project Manager, Parks and Recreation, for sharing their knowledge and their pride in this newest addition to Glendale’s vast park system.
Heroes Park has the following existing elements: the library, a four-acre fishing lake, a splash pad, an archery range, basketball courts, an X-court for skaters and bikers, and a large picnic area with 10 reservable ramadas. By the way, you will soon see construction activity at the library as the city begins its expansion of meeting space at that facility.
This newest addition to Heroes Park adds eight new pickleball courts, the city’s first synthetic field with lights, two natural grass multi-use fields, a dog park, a play structure for adventurous and creative activity, plus additional 300+ parking spaces.
On my tour I took some photos that share the flavor of this new Heroes Park area. Here is the soccer field. It is lighted and boasts the first use of artificial turf for a sports field in Glendale. All lights in the park are shielded. Consequently, the light does not spill over into neighborhoods surrounding the park.
Here is a connection between the homes to the north of the sports complex. Residents in that neighborhood can simply walk into the park. This area also has a very large buffer area to protect the neighborhood.
There is a large, fenced maintenance area that will store the necessary equipment and supplies to make sure the park stays in tip-top condition.
Perhaps the jewel of this area is the children’s play area. It is a new concept as it has a raised area adjacent to the children’s play area that allows parents to keep an eye on their little ones as they play. Large shade trees were deliberately planted in this area to provide instant shade for children and parents alike. There are tables and benches for the use of parents while they keep an eye on their children.
There are 8 pickleball courts, a mini pitch area and a dog park separated with one area for small dogs and another for large dogs.
I am proud that during my tenure as the councilmember of the Yucca district, home to Heroes Park, I secured the funding for the design and construction of the new area as well as the coming library expansion. After waiting for 27 years (Heroes Park was added to the CIP (Capital Improvement Program) in 1998 the final element has yet to be built. That is the recreation and aquatic center. It is my goal to see those elements under construction in the next 3 years. Once they are completed, Heroes Regional Park will offer the explosion of new population in the Yucca district a full compliment of activities — serving all from the youngest to seniors. The City of Glendale will have finally fulfilled its commitment to the people of south and west Glendale after decades of waiting. I look forward to that day.
I drove through the area this past Sunday and some families have already discovered the children’s area and the ramadas. I suspect that as people become aware of this new area it will be lovingly and heavily used. This coming weekend I invite you to check it out and explore all the wonderful new activities that the sports complex provides. You will not be disappointed.
© Joyce Clark, 2025
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.