Tuesday evening, Ogden City officials cut the ribbon on a brand-new all-abilities playground for the park and a set of eight pickleball courts.

Kicking off the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Ogden City Executive Director of Public Services Justin Anderson said Tuesday was a momentous occasion.

“We are here today to really start a new chapter for this park,” he said. “It is super exciting to be able to have this playground behind me, and then, over there we have the new pickleball courts, and to be able to celebrate the kickoff of many more great things to happen at this park.”

He said that Tuesday’s opening was the culmination of around two years of effort.

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

“The mayor pulled me aside one day and said, ‘Hey, Justin, I need you and your team. Lester Park has kind of been sitting there. Some stuff should be happening there, and we want to see some stuff moving,'” Anderson said. “And I said, ‘Mayor, that’s great. We want to see that too. We’re going to work hard to get to it. We’ve got these few other things that we’re taking care of,’ I think one of which was the Marshall White Center at the time. And the mayor was like, ‘That’s really good. You’re going to find time to work this in.'”

And find time, they did.

“Lester Park is stepping into a new era,” a press release on the improvements reads. “Ogden’s first all-abilities playground is designed to welcome children across a spectrum of abilities, giving children with and without mobility challenges more opportunities to play together. The new pickleball courts offer another space for recreation and connection while expanding opportunities for a sport that has grown in popularity among Golden Hours participants. This is just the first phase of the Lester Park revitalization, with construction continuing in other areas of the park.”

Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski said that the neighborhood has waited long enough to see Lester Park revitalized and that it was time to start the process rather than waiting.

“This is the first of many, many ribbon cuttings, many celebrations, many community gatherings to come,” he said. “And we’re going to do it in phases because we’re going to take steps, and we’re going to get it done. We’re not going to just wait around and wait until we have all of it and then in the meantime, frustrate people who are super engaged.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

Following the ribbon cutting, it took no time at all for the dozens upon dozens of children gathered to watch the proceedings to begin utilizing the large playground structure.

Anderson said work has yet to be fully completed on the first phase of the Lester Park project and that the public will see this work in the months to come.

“Right now, we also have irrigation that’s going to be going in. We have electrical that’s going to be going in,” he said. “We also have some water and some sewer and some other utilities. We have a lot of landscaping that’s going to be taking place. This is going to continue as part of phase one until really June of next year.”

He told the Standard-Examiner after the ceremony that there are some big plans for Lester Park that have yet to be funded, including amenities such as a game area, additional pathways, an ice skating rink and a new art pavilion.