More than half a century after it first flung open its doors to the thrill of harness racing, the site that once housed the ambitious Phoenix Trotting Park is now echoing with the sounds of youth preparing for their bright futures. According to a report by the City of Goodyear, tomorrow marks the official opening of the Goodyear High School, a new beacon of education built on the foundations of past dreams and hopes.
Launched in 1965 and designed by visionaries from Italy, the Phoenix Trotting Park was a spectacle of its time, fitted with grandstands and a fine-dining restaurant. However, beset by the times and the strains of poor infrastructure, the grandstands welcomed fans for a shortened period, closing down after just 23 months. Drawing from the original city announcement, a solitary road, often at the mercy of winter floods, deterred would-be enthusiasts, sealing the fate of the venue in December 1966.
Its silent bulk, a fixture in the desert expanse, became something of a roadside marker before the last of its structure was leveled five years ago, in 2017. Since then, the echoes of hooves and cheers have been replaced by the hum of construction, hammers laying down the groundwork for future generations. On part of what was once the racetrack property, the Phoenix Trotting Park’s narrative has given way to education’s call…