La Grande Parks and Recreation will hold a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Riverside Playground on July 2, 2025. (Riverside Playground Replacement Committee/Contributed Photo).

LA GRANDE — Children will soon be able to run, climb, jump and swing all over the new equipment at Riverside Playground.

La Grande Parks and Recreation announced the grand opening will be held Wednesday, July 2, starting at 4 p.m. at Riverside Park. There will be a short thank you from the department and the Riverside Playground replacement committee, Parks and Rec Director Stu Spence said, which will be followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony.

“I’m just incredibly excited,” Spence said.

The construction fence surrounding the playground will come down following the grand opening. There is also still some clean up and landscaping work to be done, Spence said, but the playground will be safe and open for use.

The new playground was designed by Ross Recreation Equipment, of Santa Rosa, California, and cost around $650,000, which was paid for through grants and donations. The rebuild began at the end of April with the demolition of the old playground and the installation of the new equipment.

However, the replacement project as a whole dates back to 2022 when the department had the manufacturer of the old Riverside Park playground equipment — Ithaca, New York-based Leathers and Associates — out to perform an additional inspection due to the age of the structures.

While the playground was in good shape at that time, the consultant recommended Parks and Rec should start planning for a replacement within the next year or two. This recommendation was made due to splitting on the main support posts and the overall framing showing its age. The playground is made of wood, which has a limited lifespan and is more susceptible to weathering. This is especially true in the Northeastern Oregon climate.

A volunteer committee of about 20 community members began working on the Riverside Playground replacement project at the beginning of 2023. Committee members decided the theme for the new playground structure would be a magical forest. Like the existing playground, it was important to the committee that the new structure be a destination playground — a place that draws crowds from surrounding areas for its unique design and wide range of activities.

The committee ultimately selected Ross Recreation Equipment — in part due to the company’s specialization in Americans with Disabilities Act accessible equipment and all inclusive playgrounds.