Phoenix parks department highlights new cricket fields, South Mountain upgrades and A+ 3PI audit; public raises transparency, authority concerns

Cynthia Aguilar, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, told the Transportation Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee that the department completed multiple capital projects in 2024, unveiled three new cricket pitches and received an A+ rating from an independent audit of 3PI (the Phoenix parks sales-tax initiative).

The update matters because the department’s projects and the 3PI revenue stream fund park renovations and operations across Phoenix; several members of the public used the subcommittee hearing to press the city for greater transparency, additional amenities at the new cricket fields, and clarification about the parks board’s authority.

Aguilar opened the presentation by outlining the scale of the system: the city manages 187 parks, 33 community centers, 29 pools, eight municipal golf courses and 10 mountain preserves totaling more than 36,000 acres and about 240 miles of designated mountain trails. She said the department staff numbers about 1,400 and that two new parks in Laveen are planned to open this year.

Deputy director Danielle Poveromo described 2024 events and community activation work. “This signature city event ... fosters a sense of community for all,” Poveromo said of the APS Electric Light Parade, which she said drew an estimated 400,000 attendees along a 2.3-mile route and reached additional viewers through broadcast partners.

The department reported several capital projects completed in 2024. Notable work at South Mountain Park and Preserve includes roughly $22 million in improvements over the past nine years and a $2 million Gila Valley Lookout project that renovated an underused parking…