Parker is preparing to break ground on the second phase of its sprawling Salisbury Regional Park expansion, with town officials expecting to start work before the new year on a 22.23-acre addition packed with pickleball courts, a bike park and a fully inclusive playground. Phase 1 construction, which includes four grass lighted baseball and softball fields and two synthetic turf lighted soccer fields, is expected to wrap up this fall.
The push comes after the Parker Town Council approved a site plan amendment for the second phase, according to the Parker Chronicle. The newspaper notes the amendment followed a unanimous recommendation from the Parker Planning Commission, which voted to send the 22.23-acre proposal to the council, as detailed by Citizen Portal. That proposal adds courts, an inclusive playground, a community hub and a bike park to the site.
Phase 2 is set to include two lighted tennis courts, 17 lighted pickleball courts, two basketball courts and a sports courts building, per the Parker Chronicle's reporting. An outdoor fitness area is also planned, which town staff say will likely host programming. Eric Frandsen, a town official, said staff adjusted the development plan as community preferences shifted from tennis toward pickleball, according to the same report.
A Decade in the Making
Salisbury Park dates back to 2001, when Parker built the first portion of the original park, the Parker Chronicle reports. The town acquired 91 acres of land north of the existing park in 2014 and adopted a master plan for that additional property the same year — building on a broader Salisbury Park master plan first approved in spring 2000. Parker has since condensed what was once envisioned as the Salisbury Park North project from several phases down into two, and the expansion has been described as a town priority for nearly a decade, with park development contemplated by Parker for more than a decade overall.
Town officials credit a partnership with Douglas County for accelerating the project's timeline. Frandsen attributed the speed-up directly to that county partnership, the Parker Chronicle reports. Douglas County awarded Parker $7.5 million in grant funding in 2025 for the Phase 1 project, according to Parker Parks and Recreation, after the town requested $8,710,539 in municipal shareback funds in fall 2024 — a request county commissioners approved by a 3-0 vote. Parker has also saved its own funds for the expansion and plans to redirect savings toward other community projects once the park becomes fully functional.
Courts, Splash Pad and a Bike Park
Beyond the sports courts, Phase 2 calls for a community hub pavilion available for rentals, a bike park designed for mountain bike skills practice, and a playground paired with a splash pad. The playground is planned to be fully inclusive for children with disabilities, per the Parker Chronicle's reporting. Parker is also reviewing public art for the development to meet town design standards, with murals and building architecture among the options under consideration, officials told the paper.
The town has already installed a walk-through art installation at the park entrance this year. Brett Collins, a town official, said Parker adds art to its parks to make them more vibrant and enjoyable, according to the Parker Chronicle. Longtime resident and town figure Todd Hendreks has described Salisbury as Parker's own version of a little Central Park, and he said the completed fields could eventually create economic development opportunities for the area once they're operational.
Access Points and a Bigger Vision
Access to the park will continue from Motsenbocker Road, with an additional entrance planned at Motsenbocker Road and Todd Drive. The Dransfeldt Road extension will provide access to the park from the north. The park will also offer pedestrian and bicycle connections from Motsenbocker Road linking to the Cherry Creek Regional Trail, and the full project is expected to provide 525 parking spaces — more than the town requires.
Salisbury Regional Park sits east of Motsenbocker Road and north of Hess Road, adjacent to and north of the existing Salisbury Equestrian Park and Sports Complex, in Parker, Colorado. Once finished, the full build-out will include additional baseball, softball and multi-use fields, buildings with restrooms, storage and concessions, and gardens, the Parker Chronicle reports. Parker has not yet decided when the new synthetic turf field will open for public or programmed use, and officials plan to let the fields built in Phase 1 grow in through the spring before use begins.
Costs and a Five-Year Timeline
The complete park is estimated to cost $80 million and take roughly five years to finish, with Phase 1 anticipated to be complete by August 2026, according to the Parker Chronicle's earlier reporting. Parker officials expect Phase 2 to wrap up by mid-2028. Separately, Denver7 reports the broader Salisbury Regional Park Expansion Project is part of what county officials called the most significant investment in parks and open space in Douglas County's history.
That investment traces back to 2022, when more than 87% of Douglas County voters approved extending the county's parks sales tax, a measure expected to generate $330 million over 15 years, per Denver7's reporting. Douglas County has used similar funding to back other projects in the region, including a separate $7.5 million investment in High Note Regional Park in Lone Tree, which is set to include two new multipurpose fields, according to Douglas County.
