SANDPOINT — Travers Park has undergone a metamorphosis in recent years, Jason Welker, Sandpoint’s Community Planning and Development director, reflected in thanking those who turned out for Saturday’s Travers Park ribbon-cutting celebration.

Looking around at the new additions, from the James E. Russell Sports Center to the city’s first inclusive playground, Welker acknowledged the immense change that Travers Park has experienced recently. Now, two years after the city embarked on that path, the renovations are nearing completion and Welker is grateful. 

“It was a lot of disruption for the community, no one likes construction sites, especially in their favorite park, I can’t wait to move on from that,” Welker said. “It feels great. I’ve had great excitement and faith in this project all along.” 

Welker gathered with staff members of the JER Center, Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm and Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Steve Sanchez for a ceremonial ribbon cutting celebrating the park’s new Born Learning Trail and the next era for the park.  

Thanks to donations from United Way North Idaho and the East Bonner County Library, the trail features 10 signs and painted elements to encourage an active learning environment at the park. Located behind the playground, parents are encouraged to take their children hopscotching, tell them a story about the past or impersonate their favorite animals together. 

Next to the playground, lay a freshly poured concrete pad which will soon be home to an expanded picnic shelter. Funded by donations from the Sandpoint Rotary Club, Welker said the shelter will consist of six or seven tables and a barbecue pit.  

"I’ve seen parents struggling to find shade around that playground all summer,” Welker said. “[The shelter] will be a great place for baseball spectators, softball spectators during the ball season.” 

As the construction projects at Travers Park come to an end, Welker said the new goal is to get more people into the JER Center. During his speech, Welker commended new JER Supervisor Ryan Wells and the staff for managing a complete overhaul of the facility’s operations in the last three months. 

Wells said that the center is hosting the start of a pickleball league on Sunday and that he has seen a great response to the city’s tennis lessons for adults and children. At Saturday's event, Selkirk Sports, United States Tennis Association’s Pacific Northwest chapter, Sandpoint Tennis and the Panhandle Pickleball Club had booths set up to promote the facility. 

In addition to the continued support of racquet sports, Wells has been in contact with the two area indoor soccer clubs. Welker said they are set to begin playing futsal, a 5v5 variant of soccer, in the facility this fall.  

"We want other sports to have the opportunities to use it as well,” Welker said. “We’re going to use half the building and run two futsal games at a time ... 20 kids at a time will be able to play at the same time in the building.” 

The event also debuted the JER Center’s new floor lining mat, which can cover the first two tennis courts. Welker said that the mat will allow them to host gatherings of more than 300 people seated, offering a third event space for the community. 

Wells said that the mat will be used to host events like next month’s cornhole tournament but could be used for catered events or fundraisers as well. 

"For now, it’ll be like a smaller version of the fairgrounds with the type of events that go on at the fairgrounds,” Welker said. “There’s only a couple of spaces in town that can accommodate more than 200 people seated, this will be one of them.” 

Grimm said that the process of running the JER Center has been a learning experience for the city, but that he couldn’t be more pleased with his staff. 

With the renovations of Travers Park ending, Welker said that the Parks and Recreation department’s next focus will be decided at the upcoming committee meeting. That will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, at City Hall.  

“We’re seeing a lot of good outcomes out of a hard two-year project,” Welker said. “I’m really excited to see it all come to an end, so we can move on and enjoy it for what it is, which is an incredible park, now.” 

    A sign and hopscotch on the Born Learning Trail located behind the inclusive playground at Travers Park.