A patch of Saint Paul's West Side that used to turn into an unusable mudpit after heavy rain now has a brand-new multi-use artificial turf field, complete with lights, fresh pathways, and plans for community play. The City of Saint Paul and community partners marked the milestone with a ribbon-cutting at Baker Park on September 25, drawing local youth athletes and the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders to celebrate the overhaul.
Baker Park sits on 6.5 acres next to Cherokee Heights Elementary School and near Humboldt High School, and more than half its visitors arrive on foot, according to the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy. The old natural grass field had severe drainage problems that left it unplayable after storms, a daily frustration for the students and families who depend on it. The Conservancy says the NFL Foundation stepped in with a $250,000 Grassroots grant, partnering with the Minnesota Vikings and the West Side Boosters youth sports organization to help fund the renovation as part of the Conservancy's Equal Play Initiative to upgrade athletic facilities in historically under-resourced neighborhoods.
Construction Planned for Spring 2026
Major construction was anticipated to begin in spring 2026, according to the City of Saint Paul.
The turf field is just one piece of the larger Baker Park rebuild. The project also added new field lighting, tree plantings, accessible pathways, and parking upgrades, along with a combined restroom and storage facility, with the project awarded to Parkos Construction.
How Common Cent Is Funding a Citywide Push
Baker Park is the latest project funded through Saint Paul's voter-approved Common Cent program, the city's 1% local sales tax strategy for paying for improvements across the city. Voters approved the tax in November 2023, and it took effect on April 1, 2024, and is projected to generate nearly $1 billion over 20 years, with $246 million earmarked specifically for parks and recreation and $738 million for street repairs, the city says.
That kind of dedicated funding was a response to a genuine crisis in the park system. When the sales tax was approved, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation managed more than $600 million in physical assets while facing a deferred maintenance backlog topping $100 million, including $60 million rated urgent or critical, with the average park building approaching 40 years old, according to the city. Since the tax took effect, Saint Paul has directed funds toward roughly 100 park and recreation projects citywide, completing more than $60 million in deferred maintenance work by 2026, reporting from the St. Paul Voice shows. Those investments reportedly helped push Saint Paul to fourth place on the 2026 national ParkScore Index.
A Legal Challenge Still Looms Over the Program
A 2026 Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling remanded a lawsuit alleging Saint Paul improperly directed Common Cent funds toward park projects that weren't explicitly detailed in the city's original disclosures to the state legislature. Opponents in that case argue the city must strictly adhere to the initial project lists it submitted to state lawmakers, a legal question that remains unresolved even as construction continues across the city.
Other park projects include planned work at Wabasha Park and a renovation at McMurray Fields.
For West Side families, though, the headline is simpler: a field that used to flood is now playable and lit, with community play planned. It stands as a neighborhood-level example of the equity goals behind the Parks Conservancy's broader initiative, paired with the sales tax dollars now flowing to projects across Saint Paul.
