CHELSEA — There will soon be more space for sports and recreation in Chelsea with the addition of a 29-acre park.

City Council announced at the Aug. 17 meeting that the land was purchased last week for a new park located off Shelby County 39.

“It will make a good addition for our city the way we’re growing,” said Mayor Earl Niven. “There are a lot of children around here always looking for a place to play. Many adults have been requesting tennis courts, so we might find a place for that.”

The first step was purchasing the property, said Councilmember Robert Barnes. The economy will be a determining factor of when the city can start developing the park, he said. He hopes it will be built in the next couple of years. 

Currently, the plans for the park include additional sports fields for the community.

“We have a lot of children in this place,” Barnes said. “We definitely need more baseball fields. We’ve even had adults express an interest in an adult field. The park will be a place that we can expand and provide more services for the community.”

Barnes said the council is still considering a request for a local skate park, but have not decided if that will be included at the new park location.

In other business, the council approved the mayor’s recommendation for the city to start receiving bids to repair local roads Ferguson Drive, Cupid Lane, Shady Branch Drive, Stanley Drive and Sydney Lane.  The bids will come back to the council before approval on pricing.