A new playground and more is on the way to Panther Palace thanks to the Town of Eclectic and Hercules Inc.
Panther Palace is just a block from downtown Eclectic, Eclectic Elementary School and Elmore County High School. It has been a gathering spot for children for more than two decades with its playground and walking trail. But time took its toll on the wooden structure.
“It was starting to splinter and needed lots of maintenance,” Eclectic Mayor Gary Davenport said. “For safety reasons we decided to replace it.”
Eclectic leaders didn’t want to just install some random playground equipment. They sought partners such as local playground manufacturer Hercules Outdoor Amenities to create a playground for the current and next generation of children in Eclectic. They also involved the public.
“We had a 90-day period where we went to the community,” Davenport said. “We sought community feedback as to the type of playground equipment they wanted on the park property.”
The information received during the various listening sessions was developed into three different playground concepts.
“We then allowed three weeks to let the public vote on the style of playground they wanted,” Davenport said. “The style that received the most votes from the schools and public is the one we went with.”
Davenport said the town worked with Hercules to create a playground for everyone and to create a showpiece for the community.
“It is great to have a partner like Hercules here to help,” Davenport said. “The playground equipment we are installing is designed to be handicap accessible. We will have a ramp in two locations. It sits up off the ground and will have rubber like pellets underneath it.”
With Hercules being a hometown company, there is little to zero shipping involved, which allowed more funds to be used on the playground.
“They wanted us to have one of the nicer bigger playgrounds around,” Davenport said. “They will also be able to use it as a show place. The one we are putting in is going to fill up the whole area the old playground had. It is huge.”Â
But a new playground isn’t all that is being done at Panther Palace. More than two decades ago the area was constructed with field lines installed to drain water from the area. Over the years sand and silt has filled those lines. Before the installation of new playground equipment, crews have replaced the field lines to improve drainage.
But there is still a lot of work to be completed.
“We still have at least another 60 days of work to do there,” Davenport said. “The playground equipment should be completely installed in about three weeks.”
Once the playground is installed the drainage project will be completed. As that work progresses, renovations to the restroom building are underway.
“We are putting in new vanities and sinks and upgrading the bathroom facilities,” Davenport said. “We will be painting it. We are also in the process of getting bids to put in a security system because the one we had there got damaged.”Â
Eclectic officials are also planning to complete Gardner Cameron’s Eagle Scout project. Cameron was in the planning stages to spruce up the area around the flagpole at Panther Palace when he was involved in a 2022 automobile accident.
“Because he unfortunately died in that accident, the town is going to finish that job for him,” Davenport said. “We are going to clean the area up, build flower beds and dedicate the flagpole and flower bed arrangement in his honor.”
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