Children's park near stadium readies for opening

Paul B. Johnson, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Mar. 6—HIGH POINT — A park two years in the making should become a reality for children and their parents this spring on a spot adjacent to the High Point Rockers baseball stadium.

Blessing Park is set to debut June 1 to coincide with the opening home game of the Rockers' 2021 minor league season. The park, covering 9,000 square feet, will feature a splash pad, picnic tables, an area for play activities and a climbing rock for children.

Blessing Park — a component of the initiative led by High Point University President Nido Qubein to raise tens of millions of dollars in private contributions for core city redevelopment — originally was set to open in the summer of 2019, then the spring of 2020. But the opening was revised after new features were added to the park, as well as delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Construction has been completed on Blessing Park, Qubein said. All that's left is the formal opening of the park, timed to match the start of the Rockers' second season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

"It's a really nice little park," Qubein told The High Point Enterprise.

Blessing Park will tie into the children's area in the stands of Truist Point stadium. During a game, a family can enjoy an event in Blessing Park, then walk a short distance to their stadium seats. The park fronts Elm Street near the intersection with Gatewood Avenue.

Once the park opens, the baseball club will assume management of Blessing Park, Qubein said.

Blessing Park will be open during all Rockers home games as well as select other times throughout the year, baseball club President Pete Fisch said. Details are still being finalized with regards to the park schedule, Fisch said.

"We are thrilled that Blessing Park will finally have the official grand opening that it so rightly deserves," Fisch said. "The fact that it coincides with the return of Rockers baseball to Truist Point makes it even more special. Truist Point has become a community gathering place for High Point, and Blessing Park only enhances that experience."

The park doesn't involve public money since it was funded through a donation by Ronnie and Molly Millis Young. The park fits into the core-city initiative spearheaded by Qubein, which includes a new children's museum and a conference center.

Qubein said Blessing Park reflects the campaign to give High Pointers and visitors to the city another reason to take pride in the community,

"When the Rockers season starts, there will be an inauguration of the park and people start enjoying it," he said.

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul