FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved a $140 million plan to reimagine and redevelop Gateway Park. The plan includes a new amphitheater, splash pad and much more.
For now, with only a couple million dollars in available funding, the improvements to the park will be limited. On Tuesday, June 11 City Council also set aside $1.7 million to develop a plan to expand the park, plus, add new parking and sports fields.
The city’s park is 791 acres and just 7 minutes away, by car, from downtown Fort Worth.
The million-dollar master plan has been years in the making. The last time the park received a master plan update was in 2009. The city began reimagining its plan for the park in 2022 after it set aside $8 million for the planning and execution of park improvements. The city held several meetings to get input from residents and people who use the park, from disc golfers to mountain bikers.
Throughout the process, some residents expressed frustration that city leaders have previously promised to invest in the park, just for plans for improvements to mostly fall to the wayside.
“This time will be different,” Councilmember Jeanette Martinez, who represents Gateway Park, said.
The new master plan includes an amphitheater, observation deck, destination playgrounds, additional athletic fields, restrooms, and tennis and pickleball courts. It also expands the park west across Beach Street, creating more space for sports fields and courts.
Expanding the park is the city’s priority. Fort Worth’s newly approved contract with engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates will finance design and development for phase 1 of the project. The first phase will include expanding the park, building new roads and improving the entranceways off Beach Street.
Plus, adding bathrooms, sports fields, courts, signs and trails that connect to the broader Trinity River Trails network.
“Gateway is a major part of the river system, it’s so big and it takes everyone,” Stacey Pierce, executive director of the nonprofit Streams and Valleys told council members Tuesday. “Let’s keep working together, let’s allocate the resources, let's allocate the time, let's allocate whatever we have to do to make Gateway everyone’s park.”
Fort Worth has since gotten an extra $6.6 million to spend from the Tarrant Regional Water District to go toward park improvements. The remaining funding would have to come from future bond programs.
Speakers in support of the new master plan, said they hope the city reconsiders rezoning the park's surroundings, which includes industrial areas that used to be home to landfills and a sewage treatment plant, next. Residents want to see the land become home to compatible commercial and residential developments; they told council members.
Fort Worth City Council is already starting to plan the city’s next bond proposal, scheduled for 2026.
