Robinson Park Reopens with Renovations
By Terry Miller
Published: Monday, January 25th, 2010
Accented by cumulus clouds, and mountain tops sprinkled with fresh snow, the newly renovated Robinson Park re-opened Saturday. As is common with re openings there were the usual ribbon cutting, speeches but also city employees played a softball game. The highlight of the day , for many, was seeing city manager Michael Beck and Interim Police Chief Chris Vicino among other notable’s swing the bat and hit the ball on a crisp but delightfully clear and sunny morning.
One Pasadena resident said, “this is what Pasadena is all about – community involvement and cooperation .” Referring to the large turnout for the event, Michael James added that he thought this is one of the best things the city has done for the kids in the community.
The field seemed to hold up well considering all the rains over the previous week.
The upgrades include enlarged baseball diamonds, new restrooms, a concession stand, field lighting, electronic scoreboards, bleachers, a storage facility and the very first official size football and soccer fields at any Pasadena park.
Delano Robinson, widow of Mack Robinson and sister-in-law of Jackie Robinson, threw a ceremonial first pitch on the new artificial turf.
Robinson Park is named in honor of the Robinson family.
The renovations unveiled Saturday represent the first phase of a two-phase plan to improve Robinson Park, city officials said. The plan calls for fixing up the entire existing 7-acre park, as well as expanding the park by 2.5 acres.
Phase two is expected to include demolishing the existing gym and building a new recreation center.
The Robinson Park Master Plan was approved by the Pasadena City Council in 2002 will cost over $20 million.
Photos by Terry Miller
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