Gene C. Reid Park
Gene C. Reid Park is a 131-acre urban park in central Tucson, Arizona that includes a 9,500-seat baseball stadium, an outdoor performance center, two man-made ponds, public pools, and a 24-acre zoo along with playgrounds, gardens and picnic areas. The park occupies the western third of a 480-acre parks and recreation complex established in 1925 as Randolph Park which additionally includes two 18-hole golf courses, a tennis and racquetball facility, and an indoor recreation center. A 2-mile loop of paved multi-use trails follows the edge of the park, connecting with another 2.5 miles around the Randolph golf and recreation centers.
History
In 1925, the City of Tucson obtained a 480-acre parcel of land from the State of Arizona to create a park and golf course. The land was either purchased directly by the city fathers or was bought by Willis E. and Laura Barnum and turned over to city officials. The L-shaped park, which is one mile in width and length with a half-mile-square neighborhood in its northwest corner, was named for prominent railroad executive and Tucson citizen Epes Randolph, who died in 1921.In 1978 the western third of Randolph Park was renamed for the City of Tucson’s first parks director, Gene C. Reid, upon his retirement. In over thirty years as director Reid expanded Tucson's park system from 8 to 84 parks and made significant additions to Randolf. Reid oversaw the addition of the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, the zoo, the expansion and renovation of Randolf Golf Course, and the excavation of two lakes which doubled as irrigation reservoirs. The zoo and lakes also bear Reid's name. The recreation center and golf complex remain named after Randolph.
Sports and performance venues
Hi Corbett Field
Randolph Municipal Baseball Park opened in 1928 near Randolph Park's center. A baseball stadium constructed at the site in 1937 was later named for Hiram Corbett, who worked with Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck to bring the Indians to Tucson for spring training. The Indians used Hi Corbett Field from 1945 until 1992. From 1969 until 1997, the stadium was also used by the Triple-A Tucson Toros. In 1993 the expansion Colorado Rockies began using the stadium for spring training, staying through 2010. The stadium became home to the University of Arizona Wildcats in 2012. In their first season at Hi Corbett, the Wildcats won the 2012 College World Series.DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center
Located on the park's west side, the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center or OPC is a large grass amphitheater around a covered stage with integrated lighting and sound. Host to open-air concerts, festivals, theater productions, and movie screenings, its official capacity is 7,000.Reid constructed a bandshell at the site in 1964 to give conductor Georges DeMeester's "Pops" orchestra a permanent home, using surplus corrugated steel from Davis Monthan Air Force Base. The amphitheater was created using dirt from University of Arizona basement excavations. In 1974 the City replaced the original bandshell with the current stage. The performance center was named for DeMeester in 1987. In 1997, the street leading to it was named for Charles "Bucky" Steele, who conducted the Pops Orchestra for nearly twenty-five years after DeMeester's retirement. The Tucson Pops Music Under the Stars concert series continues to be held at DeMeester Center each spring.
A cast-concrete sculpture panel entitled "Celebrate The Arts" was added to the stage enclosure in 1986. The 8'-by-16' panel by Carole Hanson and Guillermo Esparza depicts six performers: a dancer, an actor with a comedy mask, an actor with a tragedy mask, a singer, a guitarist, and a wind musician. Catalogued in the Smithsonian Art Inventory, the work was the first Percent for the Arts commission in the City of Tucson.