Enhanced Playground Added to Cardinal Park
August 17, 1999 | General
August 17, 1999
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An enhanced, state-of-the-art playground that will accommodate all children, including those with physical disabilities, has been added to the University of Louisville's Cardinal Park.
The 10,000 square foot facility will not only grant access to those with physical disability, but was designed with those individuals in mind, and will be the best of its kind in the nation.
"We had a playground in mind in the initial concept for Cardinal Park, but we've vaulted well past that," said U of L Director of Athletics Tom Jurich. "This enhancement is beyond what anyone in the country has done. It will be open and accessible to everyone -- not just the families of our students, faculty and staff, but for those in our neighboring communities and to all visitors to our campus."
Funding for the project has been jump-started by a $75,000 donation from the Don Fightmaster Foundation. A U of L alumnus, Fightmaster is the founder and president of the Don Fightmaster Foundation for Exceptional Children. A member of the Kentucky Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame, he is a seven-time national, two-time international and once senior international One-Arm Golf Champion.
"It is important to heighten the public awareness of the ability of those with disabilities, and Don Fightmaster is helping us to do that with this cutting edge facility," said Jurich. "The initial plans for the playground would have been more than adequate, but with the gift from Don's foundation, we are able to turn it into something that is one-of-a-kind, and will allow children with disabilities to play and participate with children without disabilities."
Some of the specifics on the playground, which will accommodate about 400 children at one time:
- The surface will consist of a seamless, poured-in place rubber.
- Play areas will be available to children ages 2-12, with a separate structure for toddlers.
- Featured structures will include wheelchair-accessible stepped platforms, contained accessible climbers, transfer stations and ground based activities that have been featured in the Smithsonian Museum for their advancements in accessibility allowances.
- Play structures consist of 14 slides, an elevated sandbox, an ADA-approved swing, tot swings, spring animals and ADA-approved spring animals, and two 15 -foot towers with three levels and an arched catwalk and swinging bridge.
- All structures higher than six feet will be contained with see-through barriers, allowing for safety and easy supervision.
- The area exceeds or is in compliance with standards derived by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), and International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA).
- A perimeter sidewalk will surround the entire playground.
U of L broke ground on the first phase of Cardinal Park on Dec. 9 last year, and the project has been on the fast track since. Sod was laid recently in the softball stadium, due to be completed in February. The Cards' softball team, one of three new women's sports which begin competition this year at U of L, will have their first practice on the new field Sept. 7 while work continues on the stands and surrounding area. Construction continues on the track/soccer stadium and facilities building adjacent to the softball field.
Additional facilities included in the first phase of the project, which will be completed by next summer, include an artificial turf field, outdoor basketball and sand volleyball courts and a fitness trail. A natatorium and fieldhouse are also planned as part of the next phases of the $48 million Cardinal Park sports complex.
Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, a 42,000-seat state-of-the-art football stadium, opened last fall. The Bass-Rudd Tennis Center opened its doors in 1994. Cardinal Club, a 220-acre golf facility, will break ground later this month. A boat house is being refurbished on the Ohio River for the women's rowing team, another U of L sport which begins competition this fall. U of L's baseball and field hockey teams recently moved into Cardinal Stadium, once home to Cardinal Football and professional baseball. The Cards' men's and women's basketball teams both play in 18,865-seat, tradition-rich Freedom Hall. Cardinal Arena, opened this decade as part of the Swain Student Activities Center, provides a home court for U of L's volleyball team.
