Fam­i­lies in search of a new pub­lic play­ground in Mar­i­on to accom­mo­date chil­dren from infan­cy to five years old will get their wish come spring. 

Game­time, a cus­tom play­ground man­u­fac­tur­er, has award­ed the City of Mar­i­on near­ly $65,000 toward the pur­chase of new equip­ment for Mat­ter Park, near­ly half the total cost of the equip­ment pur­chase of just over $136,000.

One sec­tion of the updat­ed play­ground is designed for chil­dren ages 2 – 5, and anoth­er sec­tion will accom­mo­date those 6 to 24 months of age. 

The new struc­tures will be built near Shel­ter 2 in Mat­ter Park, replac­ing the old structures.

Parks Office Man­ag­er Rose Cade­na applied for the grant after receiv­ing noti­fi­ca­tion that the City would again be eli­gi­ble for fund­ing. In 2022, she applied for and received $50,000 from Game­time toward four new play­grounds through­out Mat­ter Park, a total cost of $100,000.

Con­struc­tion on the updat­ed ​‘0−5’ play­ground will begin lat­er this fall, weath­er per­mit­ting, to open by ear­ly spring of 2025.