With the official reopening on Dec. 5, 2025, Roberto Clemente Park is once again able to host families and fun through its incredible renovations. Closed since March, Roberto Clemente Park has undergone substantial changes that leave it unrecognizable from its previous design. Funding for the renovation came in the form of a Fort Myers capital improvement fund of $1.375 million with another $1 million from the state due to the efforts of State Representative Jenna Persons-Mulicka, a claim she made on X.
Previously, Roberto Clemente Park featured both basketball and tennis courts, pavilions and a playground, as well as the Williams Academy Museum. Today, a new million-dollar playground has taken the place of the previous one as well as the construction of a new amphitheater that will allow events to be held at park just as they have been before. The main feature of the playground is the new 21-foot-tall slide, the largest in Southwest Florida, with an obstacle course built within it, requiring anyone who dares to traverse its fun path to then enjoy the ride down. Portraits of African American idols are plastered throughout the playground on its many other attractions. Slides, play sets, obstacle courses, everything a kid could need to have a blast. And the kids do enjoy the park, with their laughter filling the air.
Chairperson of the Lee County Black History Society, Charles Barnes Jr, said, “What does the park do for the community? It should be what does the park do for the whole city!” He stated that families and children of all backgrounds have come to enjoy the park. “That’s the whole goal: to bring people together,” said Barnes.
The plans for construction and renovation are far from over. The Lee County Black History Society has a vision board that helps to visualize what they have planned. During the playground construction, the basketball and tennis courts had been removed, but there are plans for a new court to be built where the current office is located. This new court would include a roof to provide shade. Based on the render provided, an array of solar panels will be put on the roof of this new court. As for the office, a new Cultural Center will be built closer to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard that will also be used as a new base of operations for the Lee County Black History Society and its mission…