Craig Ranch park set to open Labor Day weekend

Touted by City Manager Tim Hacker as one of the projects North Las Vegas is most proud of during a strategic plan council meeting Nov. 26, the Craig Ranch development park is scheduled to be completed by July.

When the park opens for Labor Day weekend, after the landscaping has had time to grow, residents should have access to a skate park, basketball and tennis courts, picnic pavilions and trails, baseball fields, a dog park, a community garden, a rose garden and several playground facilities. It will be the first designated dog park in the city, said Mike Henley, director of Parks & Recreation.

"I've had people call and say, 'When is the dog park going to open? My dog was a puppy when you told me that,' " Henley said.

Craig Ranch, at the northeast corner of Craig Road and Commerce Street, is at the site of the former Craig Ranch Golf Course. The city saved it from development by purchasing the land with funds from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Planning for the 150-acre park began in 2006, and construction started in July 2009.

Henley said that in the future, he would like to see a volunteer conservancy group connected with the park.

"I think this project has unique value that will get people to be a part of it and get out of the woodwork," Henley said, even though such a group has yet to be formalized.

The park, located near the geographic center of the city, was originally planned to be constructed in phases. However, because the property had been a golf course with open land that required upkeep, Henley said it made more sense to combine phases one and two, which are planned to cost about $30 million. The amphitheater and swim beach included in the master plan were cut from phase two construction because of cost, but Henley said he is optimistic that the projects will reach fruition as the economy recovers. Instead, the city plans to set up a large, temporary stage on the site of the amphitheater. He said the indoor aquatic center is on hold, too, after Bureau of Land Management funding was unavailable.

Henley said that on Jan. 16, his department will present the City Council with recommendations on how to make Craig Ranch financially sustainable. He believes the park will have several revenue-generating features in the form of rentals, the community garden and a possible entrance fee. Charging admission to the park is not a popular idea among the City Council members, though, Henley said.

"The council is really (not) cool on that," particularly during a difficult economy, he said.

"The goal for this in the business plan was to return 60 cents on the $1 in revenue, and that's going to be a problem," he said.

Henley said the city also hopes to use the park space to hold a market, which is why officials constructed enough space for vehicles to park alongside the walkways.

Approximately 750,000 people are estimated to use this park each year when it opens, Henley said after analyzing the average use of other large projects in the valley and the Southwest.

Brett Miller, who oversees construction at the park, said he expects the skate park to be a major draw.

"The skate park is going to be one of the biggest challenges because we've never really built one," he said.

It will be the first skate park the city has built and only the second skate park in the city. Miller tests all of the playground features, he joked, to make sure they are safe for children - everything from the rock climbing wall to the metal drums.

When complete, it will be the largest park in North Las Vegas.

To view the master plan, visit tinyurl.com/craigranch.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Laura Phelps at lphelps@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.