Legacy Play Village in Lubbock closed for repair

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LUBBOCK COUNTY, TX (KCBD) - The largest playground in Lubbock is closed again for repairs.

Legacy Play Village will undergo yard maintenance, staining of the structure, trash removal, fence repair and other projects.

The park has been closed for clean up and repair multiple times over the last several years amid safety concerns.

In 2014, K-C-B-D found empty beer cans, trash, exposed nails and a used male contraceptive.

In 2007, the park was vandalized resulting in thousands of dollars in repair.

Leslie Peden and her friends planned on a play date today but she says once again, they're unable to access the grounds.

"We're from out of town and this is where we wanted to come play and unfortunately it is padlocked right now," Peden said.

Peden's friend Rebekah Elder says this park is her go-to spot.

"This is just one of the coolest parks in Lubbock," Elder said. "I mean its fun, there's a fence around it so you don't have to worry about the kids running away. There's different picnic tables to pick from so that way I can avoid the wind. There's a lot of slides, just a lot of good places to play."

Park operators say all parks have their problems, graffiti, vandalism, deterioration of the grounds, and they say the legacy play village is no different. The most recent incident of vandalism was this Christmas and Elder says she's noticed issues herself.

"Hopefully they'll go through and clean up all the trash I think because of just people and then just the wind, a lot of trash gets in there, broken bottles, sometimes people come here and do not so good things," she said.

The park is almost 13 years old. Park operators say they come out twice a year for routine maintenance but they are dependent upon volunteers to help repair and maintain the grounds.

"The baby swings had been completely taken away they just weren't working anymore like some of the chains were either too short or had just gotten messed up so it looks like they've replaced the baby swings, or at least the frame for it," Elder said.

Park operators also say they are considering tearing down the outdated wood structure and replacing it with something more durable.

The park will be closed tomorrow to all children and other visitors but adult community members are invited to participate in the clean up from 8:30 a.m. to noon.