The newest addition to the renovations happening across the City of Oxford is in Merry Day Park. Oct. 9 marked the official opening of the new playground located at 40 Reaghs Way.
The land for Merry Day Park was donated by Ray and Mary Day, co-founders of Day Estates, LLC in the 1990s, according to Day Estates, LLC Account Manager and Oxford recreation board chair Jacob Young.
“My grandparents thought they needed a greenspace area, so the City of Oxford took it over and put a playground there 23 or 24 years ago,” Young said.
Being the oldest playground in Oxford, Merry Day Park began its reconstruction process in March 2023 with bids from different companies and playground plans, according to Young.
The cost of the playground’s construction project did not exceed $100,500, according to the Oct. 15 city council agenda.
“The playground was constructed using funds from a Community Development Block Grant program,” said Director of Oxford’s Parks and Recreation Casey Wooddell. “Each year, the City of Oxford is allocated funding from this grant program, and in 2024, those funds were primarily used to pay for the playground at Merry Day Park.”
This past September, the old playground, which had been there since 2000, was closed and the City of Oxford began the installation of the new playground, according to Young.
“The new state-of-the-art playground is more than swings and slides,” Young said. “There’s lots of color and different types of musicals, games, problem solving and puzzles for kids to do on the playground.”
The new playground includes different sizes of slides ranging from three to nine feet high. It is also ADA certified, meaning there are two areas for wheelchair accessibility and a swing made accessible for children with disabilities, according to Young.
“There are endless possibilities that you could go there twice as a kid and still be finding something cool.” Young said.
This new playground officially reopened on Oct. 9, which is the birthdate of Young’s late grandmother Mary Day, the namesake of Merry Day Park.
“I think it was a happy coincidence that it just ended up opening that day.” Young said “We all thought that she would have loved the playground and loved to see the kids playing there.”
Young said he believes that his grandmother would have been at the park’s opening with her own ribbon to cut. “She would have been very excited about it,” Young said.
Future plans include access to Merry Day Park along the OATS trail, according to Young.
“It is probably going to be one of the last sections or phases to be complete,” Young said. “It is going to be a challenge and what we are trying to do with the trails system is really unprecedented, but I know it will happen.”
Alongside the playground, Merry Day Park, which is open to the public, features a baseball backstop, two goal posts as well as parking for visitors.
“I want to make sure that the City of Oxford feels thanked.” Young said. “The Day family as a whole loved that they [Oxford Parks and Recreation] put some time and money into this park that is serving a needed community.”
