Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, joined by elected officials and community leaders from the Borough of Roselle, the City of Elizabeth and the City of Linden, yesterday marked the dedication of the new Warinanco Park Track and Field with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new Track and Field is home to:
- a new and improved eight-lane running track;
- multi-use turf field for soccer, football and track;
- field lighting, new bleachers with ADA features, stadium concession and lavatories.
Paid for through capital project funds from the Department of Parks and Recreation, the total cost of the upgrade to the track and field facility is a little more than $4 million.
“The upgrades to the Warinanco Park Track and Field are a significant step toward the Freeholder Board’s commitment to ensure that our public facilities provide Union County residents with modern, up-to-date resources for recreation,” said Freeholder Chairman Christopher Hudak, who announced the upgrades earlier this year as part of his Chairman’s “Turf and Build” initiative for 2014.
The ribbon-cutting event featured speeches from Mayor Jamel Holley of Roselle, and Mayor J. Christian Bollwage of Elizabeth – each highlighting the significance for their community of the upgrades to the athletic field.
Rev. Reginald W. Atkins, president of the Roselle Board of Education, was joined by Roselle student athletes and band members to conclude the ceremony with a grand entrance onto the track and field running through an official Warinanco Park Track and Field banner.
“Generations of Union County residents have enjoyed the many unique features of this iconic park. This is a place where memories are made,” said Chairman Hudak. “Today we celebrate the beginning of many new memories for all who come to visit the track and field at Warinanco Park.”
Located in the City of Elizabeth and the Borough of Roselle, and boarders the City of Linden, Warinanco Park, which opened in the mid 1920s, comprises 205 acres of developed park land and was originally designed by the Olmsted Firm.
Beginning in 1857 with the design for Central Park in New York City, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), his sons and successor firm created designs for more than 6,000 landscapes across North America, including many of the world’s most important parks.
While it is deceivingly smaller in size, the classic Olmstead design of the park with its distinctive features makes it appear as if it is actually much larger. Warinanco Park offers many different attractions in four distinct areas, where for the past 90 years or so, residents have made memories every day. The four areas of the park are: the Central Park area, the boathouse playground area, the skating center, and the track area.
Some other popular attractions in the park include the Chatfield Gardens; the park’s Great Walk area; tennis courts; ball fields; par-course fitness route; spray park and playground. In the Spring, the park is noted for its colorful blooms of Cherry Blossom, Dogwood trees and Azaleas.
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