Who We Are

The City of Mesa's Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department is one of 139 accredited park and recreation agencies in the United States. The National Recreation and Park Association's Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) recognizes park and recreation agencies for excellence in operation and service. CAPRA is the only national accreditation of park and recreation departments and is a valuable measure of a department’s overall quality of operation, management, and service to the community.  

Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities was the first parks and recreation organization in the world to become a Certified Autism Center, a designation from the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) that demonstrates the organization’s commitment to ensuring guests with autism and sensory sensitivities have the best possible experience.

The Gold Medal Award honors communities throughout the United States that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management, and agency recognition. Mesa was awarded the Gold Medal in 1978, 1992 and 2000. Mesa has been named a 2014, 2015 and 2019 Gold Medal Finalist.

The Foundation for Mesa Parks and Recreation sponsors new programs and funds facility improvements; disseminates information on existing city cultural and recreational opportunities; and provides a tax-advantage opportunity for businesses, organizations, and individuals to contribute to the quality of life in Mesa.

City of Mesa's parks and facilities provide a place for the community to gather for intimate groups on up to large public events. Mesa’s well-maintained parks beautify the areas in which they reside and create a sense of nature in many urban areas. Park picnic ramadas are reserved thousands of times per year and host public events with many happy attendees. Parks are used to host weddings, company picnics, family reunions, non-profit events, and wide range of other special events. The City of Mesa hosts a variety of events that bring our community together including the bi-annual “Celebrate Mesa”, 4^thof July “Celebration of Freedom”, and “Merry Main Street” during the holiday season.

Our public parks, professional baseball stadiums, sport and aquatic complexes, and convention center and amphitheater are not just for the locals but visitors as well.  These amenities draw tourism dollars to the community, as they generate overnight stays, and patronage for restaurants, retail stores, gas stations, etc. Mesa hosts soccer, baseball, softball, flag football, kickball, disc golf, lacrosse, and tennis tournaments at our premier Parks and Recreation facilities. Festivals and special events hosted within City parks also draw visitors from around the region that patronize Mesa businesses. In 2022, the Department served as the host site for 111 community events with 172,973 people in attendance, generating an estimated $3.46 million dollars in economic development.

Parks and Recreation help increase safety and security in the community. Here are a few specific examples of how Mesa Parks and Recreation helps keep the community safe.

Park Rangers are a vital part of the safety, security and goodwill of the guest experience at Mesa City Parks. The Park Rangers work closely with the City of Mesa Police to promote family friendly activities and ensure a safe and appropriate park environment. Rangers are trained in law enforcement, emergency response, environmental education, crowd management, and working with individuals in our community who are experiencing homelessness.

Park Maintenance staff patrol park playgrounds, sports complexes, and aquatic facilities regularly conducting safety inspections and replacing or repairing any worn or damaged equipment. Inspection staff must complete a rigorous training course and maintain national certifications in the certification process.

Learn-to-Swim and Water Safety are a big part of the Aquatics program as Mesa strives to promote swimming and water safety skills throughout the community, and reduce the incidents of backyard and waterway drownings. Learn-to-Swim lessons are taught in the spring, summer and fall seasons with over 10,000 participants learning water safety skills each year.

The Making Waves program offers swim lesson and aquatic team scholarships to hundreds of families in need each year. Funding for Making Waves is sponsored by SRP, American Red Cross, Mesa Hohokam Foundation and the Foundation for Mesa Parks and Recreation. Mesa lifeguards, swim instructors, team coaches, and Jr. Lifeguard volunteers train for over 50 hours every May and summer to ensure citizens are safe while having fun at our aquatic facilities. Mesa Parks and Recreation partners with the Mesa Fire and Medical Department to hold a free water safety event, the Pre-Summer Splash Bash in May. In June, SRP and Mesa Parks and Recreation partner up for the free Pechanga en La Piscina event. Both events invite families to have fun at the pool while learning about water safety. Families can also take home valuable water safety related items and materials such as lifejackets and information about keeping the backyard pool safe.  

The Positive Play Project provides parent and youth sports coach trainings in the areas of sportsmanship, positive coaching, concussion awareness, injury prevention hydration, nutrition, and access to safety gear and financial assistance. To date, this program has served over 2,500 youth, and requires over 178 coaches to offer safe and meaningful youth sports experiences. Successful partnerships and grant funding help sustain this program with support from AT Still University, NextCare, Positive Coaching Alliance, National Alliance for Youth Sports, Mesa Hohokam Foundation, Mesa Community College, and the National Park and Recreation Association.

According to the Surgeon General, "Engaging in regular physical activity is one of the most important things that people of all ages can do to improve their health." National obesity statistics are sobering, with more than two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children considered overweight or obese.

Sport leagues and clinics are offered in Mesa for both adults and youth including softball, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, kickball and flag football. In FY 21/22 over 647 adult sports teams and 920 individual youth participated in City sports programs. In addition, the Department has developed strong partnerships with Community Youth Groups that offer Little League Baseball, T-ball, youth soccer, lacrosse, and flag football programs to over 10,000 Mesa youth.

Trails, fitness stations, playgrounds, sports courts, and ballfields are scattered throughout the 209 park properties comprised of 1,824 developed acres. Many of these facilities are open and available for drop-in use by the local community. Ballfields and Sport Complex facilities may need to be reserved for use.

Mesa’s five (5) Community Recreation Centers offer gymnasiums, activity/ rooms, fitness rooms, an indoor track, and a rock wall. These sites offer after-school and summer programs for youth that focus on healthy lifestyle and youth development programs. A wide variety of fitness, sports and special interest classes are offered including youth and adult sports leagues, dance, tumbling, music, martial arts, visual arts, weight training, personal and group fitness/wellness coaching, Zumba, yoga, aerobics, Pilates, indoor cycling, kick boxing and Silver Sneaker programs.

The Fun ‘N Fitness Mobile Recreation Unit travels to parks, schools and special event locations to provide active recreation to City neighborhoods with park or open space deficits. The van Mobile Unit is packed with a variety of sports and game equipment, music, and fun. Informational materials on healthy lifestyle practices, nutrition, and hydration are made available to families visiting Fun ‘n Fit locations. In FY 21/22 the Fun ‘n Fit van Mobile Units served over 3,430 youth.

The Mesa Tennis and Pickleball Center offers 16 lighted tennis courts and 9 lighted pickleball courts available for rental. The Center plays host to 62 local traveling league teams, as well as over 4,024 participants enrolled in in-house lessons and leagues.

Mesa’s nine (9) Aquatic Centers offer open public swimming, learn to swim lessons, competitive teams, aquatic fitness classes and lap swimming. Recreational aquatic teams in swimming, springboard diving, water polo and artistic swimming programs served over 2,800 youth in the summer of 2022. Year-round competitive teams are also provided through local club partners in swimming, springboard diving, water polo and artistic swimming who boast over 800 members combined. The Rhodes Aquatic Complex offers a simulated wave machine called the FlowRider for youth and adults to practice and learn surfing skills. City of Mesa pools are also available for private rentals. Throughout the summer of 2022, a total of 95 private party rentals served 8,000 individuals at City of Mesa Pools.

The Dobson Ranch Golf Course a unique and highly prized municipally owned golf course provides public play, lessons and league competition. In 2019, Paradigm Golf Group began managing the golf course.  In FY 21/22, 96,215 rounds of golf were played at, “Mesa’s most fun and friendly golf experience.”

Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities offers 8,000 different activities and classes that help participants learn something new, explore their creative talents, or improve their abilities in a variety of activities. Mesa Parks and Recreation offers learning activities for all ages.

The Mesa Pre-K Ready program has evolved into a multi-department array of programs for youth under the age of 5. These programs have a focus on learning and developmental skills and parent support materials that help prepare this age group for success when entering kindergarten and beyond. The Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department along with the Mesa Art Center, idea Museum, Arizona Museum of Natural History, and Mesa Libraries all have programming targeting this initiative.

Youth and adult sports leagues, lessons and clinics offer specific sport skill development as well as social engagement and comradery. Safety and positive sportsmanship are strongly promoted in our sports programs.

Special Interest classes offered at Community Recreation Centers offer instruction in dance, photography, cooking, fitness, wellness, nutrition, and a variety of visual and creative arts. Tenant partners Aster Aging and Oakwood Creative Care provides programs, services and daily meal programs specifically for the senior population.

The Adopt-A-Park program provides an opportunity for community engagement and public service. This program provides citizens, corporate groups, churches, scouts and other organizations to show pride in their community, contributing to the beauty, safety and functionality of park and recreation properties.

Social Engagement and cultural unity is very important to the Mesa community and is evident in the many special events and celebrations that take place throughout the Park, Recreation and Community Facilities Department locations. The Veterans’ Day Parade, Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, Celebrate Mesa community events, Merry Main Street, and Celebration of Freedom are key events sponsored by the City of Mesa that provide our community the opportunity to celebrate and foster positive community connections. The City of Mesa also provides support for other events like the Mesa Pow Wow and the Mesa Sprint Triathlon. Then, the City of Mesa also serves as the host location for a variety of other events. In total for 2022, there were 111 major public events at City locations that brought in 176,973 participants. Parks and Recreation festivals and events bring Mesa's culturally diverse community together for celebration and family fun.

Volunteering is popular with Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department. In FY 21/22, volunteers provided 26,972 hours in support of parks, pools, recreation centers, programs and special events. Volunteers are essential to the success of youth camps, swim lessons, park clean-ups and special events. Team-building, community pride, community service, and job skill training are all important take-aways for volunteer groups.

Preservation of green space plays a vital role in protecting the environment. Green space improves air and water quality and provides habitat for wildlife. Mature park trees provide shade in the hot summer months, reducing the urban heat island as well as filtering out pollutants before they reach local streams. Mesa is a registered Tree City with over 22,180 park and facility trees maintained by the Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department.

Embracing our Arizona desert habitat, Mesa has 407 acres of park property that has been left in its natural desert state or undeveloped open space. In addition, the 137 park basin locations serve as storm water retention areas, helping mitigate flooding, run-off and erosion. A partnership with Arizona Game and Fish Department provides educational signs and materials at our four (4) community fishing lakes along with regular fish stocking, and community fishing clinics.

The Mesa Pre-K Ready program will help prepare Mesa youth who are under 5 years old, and their families for success when entering kindergarten. Early learning skill development has been found to contribute greatly to a child’s success in kindergarten and beyond. The Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department along with the Mesa Art Center, idea Museum, Museum of Natural History, and the Libraries have joined forces to offer programming targeting this initiative. The goal is to raise the number of youth entering kindergarten who are measured at being prepared or having basic early learning skills. This initiative will also impact the educational success and workforce preparedness for Mesa into the future.

During the summer months many of Mesa’s youth don’t have enough to eat. At the start of the NRPA Commit to Health program, Parks and Recreation summer camps and recreation center programs partnered with the Mesa Public Schools (MPS) to serve as food distribution centers to help combat hunger in many areas of the city. Years later, we are still committed to health and still partnering with MPS to provide healthy meals to the community. 

Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is committed to providing leisure opportunities that are available to all residents, no matter their age, ability or income level. We provide and facilitate recreational services for all ages, income levels, ability and skill levels. With our pools, lakes, spray grounds, golf courses, recreation centers, parks, sport venues, nature areas and trails, our community enjoys a wide variety of recreation opportunities.

The award-winning Mesa Adaptive and Inclusion programs offered through the Department provide sport, recreation, and social programs for youth and adults with intellectual disabilities as well as inclusion assistance for participants needing an accommodation. The City partners with Arizona Disabled Sports and Arizona Special Olympics to expand program offerings to participants. The City of Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department is also the first parks and recreation organization in the U.S. and the world to become a Certified Autism Center, a designation from the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) that demonstrates the organization’s commitment to ensuring guests with autism and sensory sensitivities have the best possible experience.