In the spring of 2023, four or five organizations approached the principal at the nearby Santa Fe school over a 2-3 month period about making improvements to Themian Park. All had seen a need and had a bigger vision for the park. After the groups met together, the Railer Foundation decided to take all of their ideas and spearhead the efforts to plan and make improvements to the park. Currently, the city owns the park and the school district maintains it with the Newton Rec. Center using the ball diamonds for several kids leagues. After many meetings with representatives from USD 373, the City of Newton and the Rec. Center, the Railer Foundation received the go-ahead to start fundraising for the project.

The draw of the park is its location near downtown, the traffic it gets from Santa Fe 5/6 Center, and its proximity to many local neighborhoods. One of the goals of the Railer Foundation is to lead projects to renovate facilities in an effort to create places which are easily accessible for people of all ages in our community to play.

The Plan

The proposal, which will happen in phases, includes 2 new basketball courts with lights, the addition of 3 pickleball courts with lights, bathrooms, a picnic shelter, adding a small-sided soccer field, and adding 2 wiffle ball/baseball/softball fields. Pickleball was a must in the project. It has continued to be America’s fastest-growing sport for the third year in a row (out of 124 tracked). On top of that, in a community survey done by the Rec. Center, residents selected new pickleball courts as one of their top priorities. The hope is to raise enough funds to begin the project in 2025.