Lodestone park to have hoops thanks to Jazz

With financial aid from the Utah Jazz, three outdoor basketball courts will be built at Lodestone regional park, which is being developed along the Kearns-West Valley City border.

On Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Council formally accepted a $25,000 donation from Larry H. Miller Charities to pay for the side-by-side courts, which will have the Jazz logo in the center and be painted in Jazz colors.

"The courts show that the Jazz are part of the community," said Angelo Calacino, a park development project manager in the parks and recreation division. "We appreciate them being here and making a positive impact."

That's why the Miller family and the Jazz organization make such donations, said Jay Francis, president of Larry H. Miller Charities.

"We don't do it to drive additional ticket sales," he said. "It just goes along with the Miller family culture of giving back to the communities where we do business."

Larry H. Miller Charities previously paid for outdoor courts in Taylorsville and West Valley City.

The philanthropic effort has branched out in recent years, Francis added, helping pay for basketball courts in Weber and Utah counties.

Calacino said the $25,000 can be used to add amenities to the park or to buy another feature for a sizable playground planned for Lodestone, 6170 W. 5990 South.

Design work on the 62-acre park is about 90 percent done, he said, expecting the project to go out to bid this spring. Construction is projected to take 18 to 24 months.

When the work is done, Lodestone will have athletic fields, picnic pavilions, pickleball and tennis courts, a lengthy walking trail and a "destination playground" with a mining theme, given the proximity of Kennecott Utah Copper's operations in the Oquirrh Mountains.

Calacino said Kennecott donated a giant dump-truck tire that will be a playground feature after it is half-buried.

A $47 million county bond approved in 2012 provided much of the money for Lodestone and two other large parks — Southwest Regional Park, at 14000 S. 2700 West, and Wheadon Farm Park, at 13800 S. 440 East.

Bond proceeds also are being used to complete stretches of the Jordan River Parkway trail and Parleys Trail, which connects the river parkway to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail along the Salt Lake Valley's eastern foothills. S.L. County parks with outdoor courts

Copperton • Copperton Park, 8791 W. Park St.

Hunter • Hunter Park, 3600 S. 6000 West

Kearns • Welcker Memorial, 4700 South from 4100-4800 West

Magna • Elk Run Village, 8675 W. 3500 South; Magna-Copper Park, 8941 W. 2600 South; Pleasant Green, 3250 S. 8400 West

Millcreek • Fortuna Park, 4610 S. Fortuna Way (3530 East); Valley Center Park, 4013 S. 700 West

Murray • Riverview Park, 5840 S. 700 West

Salt Lake City • Sugar House Park, 1300 E. 2100 South

Taylorsville • Southridge Park, 5051 S. 4015 West; Taylorsville Park, 4721 S. Redwood Road; Valley Regional, 5100 S. 2700 West

Source: Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation