Indy Parks looks to keep up the pace of improvement in 2026
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Holliday Park is one of several facilities included in a plan to replace 40% of Indy's playgrounds. Photo: Courtesy of Indy Parks
The people powering Indy Parks' ongoing evolution say to expect a historically busy 12 months in 2026 to follow up on a 2025 that included dozens of groundbreakings, major renovations and grand openings.
Why it matters: A park in your neighborhood may be in line for a big upgrade or already celebrating a rebirth.
What they're saying: "We are, in many ways, the community's living room, where people can connect on a larger scale outside of the four walls of their home," Indy Parks director Brittany Crone told Axios. "So we're talking about transformative investments and transformative prioritization of our parks department as this priceless third space."
By the numbers: Officials say 43 facilities are expected to undergo construction or get new amenities in 2026, representing nearly 20% of the city's 218 parks.
- The last big project on the 2025 docket is the addition of a new playground, adult fitness equipment, and pickleball and basketball courts to Southside Park. That will open this month, weather permitting.
- Many of the projects are funded by either the city's $45 million Circle City Forward Initiative or the $80 million Lilly Endowment grant.
🛝 Projects under construction
- The MLK Gateway Project to elevate the southern portion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park started in the spring and will be done in April 2026.
- The Al Polin WNBA All-Star Legacy Court, established to celebrate the game being hosted in Indianapolis, will have a new playground and walkways when complete in early 2026.
- A new playground and improved trails are set to debut at Thompson Park in summer 2026.
- Fountains in the Garfield Park Sunken Gardens will open to the public in spring 2026.
🏗️ Projects on the way
- A new playground, volleyball court, pump track and other site improvements are scheduled to begin construction in early 2026 at Canterbury Park.
- Work at Robey Park to build a new shelter, install hard courts, and make trail improvements will also begin early next year.
- An archery range will be added to Riverside Adventure Park.
Plus: Indy Parks is also replacing more than 40% of the city's 130 playgrounds.
Between the lines: The Indy Parks team also wants to expand on the more than 2,400 Indy Parks programs that provide community resources to residents, like the camps that served more than 4,200 local kids over the summer or the Drive & Dish Program, run in partnership with Gleaners and the Pacers Foundation, which has delivered more than 1.2 million pounds of food to hungry Hoosiers since its launch.
- Indy Parks also brought the noise by hosting more than 50 free concerts in 2025.
State of play: For Crone, who is entering her sixth month as the department's leader, these programs represent the potential of Indy Parks to be a driver of public health.
- "Our programs are preventative," she said. "The social capital, if you will, that people can build here in the parks system … it's actively combating any negative forces that come our way. No matter where you're coming from."
- "So our open gyms. Our after school activities. Our classes. Our sports programs. All of that is an active piece, I think, to public health and violence reduction."