By early summer, an outdoor fitness court will be added to the City Park thanks to a grant from the National Fitness Campaign, according to Parks and Recreation director Kaleb Turner.

Turner presented the proposal to the City Council Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the monthly work session. The proposal was scheduled to be considered at the City Council meeting Monday, Feb. 17. No business is taken during work sessions.

The addition of the court would support the vision of city leaders of making Pea Ridge a place where people want to “live, work and play.”

The purpose of the initiative is to promote health and wellness, increase community engagement and improve the city’s recreational infrastructure for all residents, Turner said. The obesity rates for Arkansas are 40%, Turner said, citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said national rates are 39.6% for adults and 18.5% for children.

“I would like to attack that problem for Arkansas, Pea Ridge and Benton County,” Turner said. “This is especially important — creating more spaces at the City Park.”

The fitness court with be a free, accessible outdoor gym for all fitness levels and provide seven functional fitness zones for full-body workouts.

Pea Ridge selected as a grant eligible partner in the 2025 Healthy Cities Campaign and approved for a $30,000 grant.

According to the notice announcing approval, “the 2025 Healthy Cities Campaign is part of a national movement to make world-class fitness free and accessible in public spaces across the country, which is more important today than ever before – thank you for your commitment to supporting this goal.”

“We’ve been approved for three total grants … this would make us a leader in outdoor fitness,” Turner said. “We will be the only one in northwest Arkansas to have three courts. The closest one is at Murphy Park in Springdale.”

The court would be placed at the northeast corner of the City Park and Turner said he will try to phase together the court, basketball court and pickle ball court.

“It’s very low maintenance,” he said, adding that there is a warranty on the equipment.

A QR code on site will guide users in workouts which will be available for all abilities.

“We are hoping to get it done by June or July,” he said.

Mayor Nathan See said the court would be a good addition to the City Park and provides a “great opportunity for our citizens.”

Council member Ginger Larsen asked about whether the funds were in the budget.

See said this first year, the funds will come out of the sales tax revenue.

“We didn’t know how fast it would move,” See said, explaining that the city had created the Parks Department but not funding for it. “We’ll have to revisit that.”