HomeLocal governmentTom Petty Park softball field and ADA improvements complete, with additional renovations coming soon

Tom Petty Park softball field and ADA improvements complete, with additional renovations coming soon

January 2, 2024

Press release from City of Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville’s Wild Spaces & Public Places program and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs are excited to announce the completion of renovations at Tom Petty Park’s three softball fields. 

Completed upgrades include:

  • Field drainage improvements
  • New turf and irrigation
  • Four new water fountains and water lines        
  • Three new scoreboards       
  • Six new shade structures over the existing bleachers       
  • Upgraded ADA access        
  • New benches
  • Fencing upgrades

To allow the sports turf time to continue to grow in, the fields will remain closed to the public through the spring of 2024. We appreciate your patience while we let Mother Nature complete the establishment of the turf.

Construction costs totaled $747,000, funded by the Wild Spaces & Public Places surtax.

Additional improvements are coming soon

The city is also in the planning phase for additional improvements at Tom Petty Park.

Proposed renovations for 2024 & 2025 include:

  • Lighting of the multipurpose field and upgraded lighting on the softball fields and tennis courts
  • Demolition of the racquetball courts
  • Construction of 8 dedicated pickleball courts
  • Renovation and enlargement of the restroom building
  • New seating areas and pavilion
  • Addition of spectator bleachers under shade sails
  • Improvements to the multi-use trail
  • Accessibility improvements throughout the park

  • If you live long enough, you may actually get to enjoy what your Wild Spaces and Public Places taxes pay for…
    This is great news, just like Westside Park, Hogtown Creek Headwaters, etc.
    It just takes soooo long! I don’t understand why all these improvements drag out and aren’t done in a more efficient way to allow residents to enjoy them sooner, rather than being shut out as the work drags on, and on and on, so inefficiently…

  • Petty really “put out” all of his musical resources (which weren’t many) to make this tune

    https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-petty-gainesville-song-video-2-731597/

    https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tompettyandtheheartbreakers/gainesville.html

    At the end of the rollingstone music video you can hear a derisive chuckle, probably from the great TP himself. Let’s face it, Gainesville to him was a poorly remembered (after all that Hunter-Biden-style Snow) joke, and the way the town glorifies him just adds more to the joke.

    • I agree that Gainesville loves to use Tom Petty’s name for all kinds of things, but he was NOT a fixture in Gainesville and didn’t seem to care much about it. As a UF grad it bothers me that they play his song after the third quarter at football games. He had nothing to do with UF. Nothing.

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