Grand opening of Andy Brown Park West

Celebration filled with excited athletes, community members

Coppell+Mayor+Karen+Hunt+and+former+Coppell+Mayor+Andrew+Brown+cut+the+ribbon+at+the+grand+opening+of+Andy+Brown+Park+West+on+Saturday.+The+community+came+together+to+witness+the+official+opening+of+the+park.+

Disha Kohli

Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt and former Coppell Mayor Andrew Brown cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Andy Brown Park West on Saturday. The community came together to witness the official opening of the park.

Anika Arutla, Staff Writer

On Saturday, the final addition to the Andy Brown Park West, the soccer fields, opened.

Youth softball and soccer players stood excitedly by during the event, ready to see the new fields they were going to be playing on. All of their parents were just as excited.

“The bleachers are my favorite part because it looks like a very comfortable place to sit and watch the game,” parent Julie Hunt said. “I have two daughters and we spend a lot of time at the softball fields.”

Aside from the players and their parents,  Coppell City Council members and other members of the community  were present along with the Honor Guard, who lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Afterwards, a young girl played the national anthem on the trumpet, members of the city council sang “America the Beautiful”, and to top it all off, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony in which the mayor cut the ribbon and expressed how excited she was that the park was finally open.

“Oh my gosh it is beautiful, I am just so excited, it is gorgeous and to see all the kids here which is reason why this side of the park is for primarily used sports and that kinda stuff so it is exciting to see everybody here,” Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt said.

The development of the park has taken 37 years but this renovation of the park only took 24 months.

“We started in about 1980,” said former Mayor and park namesake Andrew Brown about the initial construction of the park. “The west side was the first park to get built and we built a basketball court and a couple of baseball fields and it took about nine months.”

Looking forward, the city is planning to build trails to connect all the parks so that people can use them.

“I like the trails because then you get to view the whole park and you get to enjoy the whole park,” Mayor Hunt said. “I have a son who is major into baseball so I think these beautiful fields are, I mean they look like professional fields, they are awesome. But this allows the girls to have the same quality fields that the boys have had. So it’s pretty spectacular.”

 

The honor guard carries the flag at the grand opening of Andy Brown Park West on Saturday. Before the ribbon cutting, the honor guard walked down the park and lead the national anthem. Photo by Disha Kohli.
Disha Kohli
Coppell citizens play in the park at the grand opening of Andy Brown Park West on Saturday. Children and parents enjoying the new park and festivities.

Twitter: @AnikaArutla