BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The city of Shafter has been awarded more than eight million dollars to create the Shafter Community Park.

In a press release from Assemblymember Rudy Salas, Salas praised the California State Parks for awarding more than $13 million in new grants to create parks in the Central Valley.

One of those places was Shafter which was awarded $8.5 million to create the park. It will aquire 42.4 acres and include four baseball fields with lighting, two softball fields with lighting, three soccer fields with lighting, two handball courts with lighting, three basketball courts with lighting, three universal indoor soccer/basketball courts with lighting, a playground with lighting, two picnic areas, five shade structures, restroom/concessions building, park storage building, park office, parking lots, and lighting and landscaping throughout the park.

The grant comes from Proposition 68 which California voters passed in 2018 called the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.
The prop directed $254.9 million to State Parks for grants to create new park opportunities for all Californians.

This is the state’s largest investment in grant funding history targeted for underserved communities, according to Salas.

The city of Bakersfield received a grant for more than $3 million which will be used to build a new park in southeast Bakersfield.

Delano also received $1.8 million to expand Eleventh Avenue Park.

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