Blue Springs city officials have signed off on nearly $6 million to build a custom playground at Southwest Park, a structure the city council's own meeting agenda described as one of a kind in the United States. The council approved a purchase order of about $5.9 million for the new playground equipment, along with $325,673 to resurface the site, at its July 20 meeting.
The vote happened without discussion and with council member Nick Brummel absent, according to the Kansas City Star, whose reporting forms the basis of much of what's known about the project so far. The playground will include intricate metal slides, multiple rope bridges, climbing structures, and nets spread across grassy hills and at least two tiers of flooring, with multiple levels created by downward slopes. Artificial turf with custom decoration will cover much of the surface, though that installation isn't expected to begin until 2028.
A Regional Destination Two Years in the Making
Blue Springs hired a design team for the Southwest Park playground back in May 2025, and city staff have estimated the custom build could take up to 24 months to design and construct. The city had previously aimed to have Southwest Park fully built and open to the public by 2027, though the turf timeline now pushes elements of that plan further out. Officials locked in a lower turf price by signing a contract in 2026, a move the Star's reporting frames as a hedge against rising material costs.
The playground is meant to serve as a focal piece for Blue Springs' broader parks system, sitting on a 55-acre parcel that global design firm Stantec has envisioned as far more than just swings and slides. According to plans presented to the Blue Springs City Council and detailed by Midwest Contractor, Southwest Park's master plan calls for a crescent hill for sledding, an elevated tree walk, an informal amphitheater, bike and hiking trails, a pump track, and a revenue-generating event barn complex. Stantec's design also aims to preserve the site's existing tree massings, waterways, and local topography while adding flexible, serpentine open lawn spaces. A second vacant plot in the city, Roscoe Righter Park, is planned to receive its own Stantec-designed makeover.
Equipment Sourced Through a Familiar City Contractor
Overland Park firm ATHCO Acquisition Corp. will source the equipment for the custom playground, continuing a contractor relationship the city has leaned on for years. ATHCO's contract with Blue Springs runs through April 30, 2029. The company has also worked on other Blue Springs park projects. The city held a July 1 ribbon cutting for the Rotary Park playground, identified as the ninth playground renovated through the city's Parks Sales Tax program, according to the City of Blue Springs Parks and Recreation Facebook page. ATHCO previously equipped the jungle-themed splash pad and renovated playground at Burrus Old Mill Park, a project that, per Landscape Structures, drew park attendance beyond what the city had expected.
The Tax Behind the Build
All of this traces back to a half-cent Parks Sales Tax that Blue Springs voters first approved in 2017 by a margin of about 70 percent. Residents then voted in 2021 to renew the tax indefinitely, removing its sunset clause with 80% approval, according to Community Rec Magazine. The city says the tax generates roughly $3 million a year, money that has gone toward maintenance, trail improvements, splash pads, and playground projects, per Grain Valley News.
The same funding stream previously built the $35 million Blue Surf Bay Waterpark, part of what the city later named the Carson Ross Community Recreation Complex, honoring the former mayor who championed the tax's passage and renewal. The waterpark and the Southwest Park playground were the two signature capital projects promised to voters during the sales tax renewal campaign, according to Athletic Business.
Part of a Bigger Growth Push
Southwest Park's buildout comes as Blue Springs considers its broader future.
What the full Southwest Park master plan will ultimately cost once the event barn complex and other amenities are built remains an open question. For now, the playground purchase order stands as the most concrete piece of a much larger vision for the 55-acre site, one the city's parks department began shaping years ago by soliciting feedback and pitches for how the land should be used.
