Indy's $3M Tarkington Park upgrade includes field honoring late 'Coach Nell'
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, alongside Indy Parks leaders, broke ground Monday on a $3 million project to add amenities including a multiuse athletic field and pickleball and tennis courts to Tarkington Park.
The upgrades at the park, which the Indy Steelers youth football team calls home, are funded by a $80 million Lilly Endowment grant to Indy Parks.
Allison Luthe, executive director of MLK Center Indy, who in March 2023 gave public comment in front of the Indy Parks board in favor of renaming the park's athletic field after the late Richard Donnell 'Coach Nell' Hamilton, shared what the field means for the neighborhood.
'I'm happy that it's named in his honor,' Luthe said, 'but I'm really happy for the players and the hundreds of young people that have played for him.'
Prior to his death, Hamilton praised the community's effort to secure a $3 million Lilly Endowment, which will add circular walkways, additional shelters, a farmers market pavilion, and field improvements to better serve youth football leagues.
"We've worked so hard for this," he wrote in his final Facebook post.
Hamilton was fatally shot and killed Jan. 11, 2023, a day after that post, during an apparent road rage incident on Interstate 65 in Greenwood. His death remains unsolved.
Contact IndyStar photojournalist Mykal McEldowney at 317-790-6991 or mykal.mceldowney@indystar.com. Follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Tarkington Park upgrade adds field, pickleball, pavilion
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