Ray Thomas, director of Parks and Recreation, outlined the recent improvements at Freedom Park during the FYI segment produced by the City of Eden. The park celebrated 25 years and has added amenities intended to increase capacity for youth sports and community events.

Thomas described a reconfiguration that converted one large field into three separate fields, bringing the park's total to five ball fields. "We took one ball field and make three out of it," he said, noting infields were rebuilt with clay to better accommodate T-ball and fast-pitch softball and to improve scheduling for youth leagues.

To support evening activities, the park installed LED stadium lights on an all-purpose field. "We put LED lights up, which allows them to practice as the year goes on and it gets darker," Thomas said, adding that lighting also opens potential for relays, races and other events. The park also added four pickleball courts (WiFi-controlled lighting), a splash pad, a mini-golf course, and a 10-space RV area often used by visiting tournament teams and seasonal workers. Thomas credited grant funding and local advocacy for the upgrades, saying organizers worked with Representative Pirtle and Senator Phil Berger to secure support.

Thomas also highlighted community partnerships: a dog park with agility equipment was funded in part by Purina, and local volunteers and former employees stepped in during an interim staffing period to keep public-works efforts on track. The park will host NC Cycle (Cycle North Carolina) for an overnight stay that could bring roughly 800 cyclists to Eden.

Thomas said the department aims to open the upgraded fields for tournaments once finishing work and checks are complete, adding that future additions will emphasize durability and cost-effectiveness. "We don't want to have to back up and have to punt," he said when describing readiness standards.

The FYI segment provided specific operational details, event plans and points of contact in Parks & Recreation for reservations and tournament inquiries.