JAMES WOOD – Staff Writer
After the $2.5 million grant from the State of Tennessee, Shelbyville Parks and Recreation is taking the next big step to investing into the community’s quality of life.
The City of Shelbyville has also invested an additional $700,000 into the project as the H.V. Griffin Park will expand with an additional 50+ acres and will match the state funding 50-50.
The current plan for the project will consist of adding six new high-quality soccer fields, designed to accommodate the large and growing soccer leagues in Shelbyville and the county along lots of brand new space for other events and activities.
Shelbyville Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Freitas spoke on the potential of the long-anticipated projects.
“We are currently doing a geo-study and the results have come back quite well,” Freitas said, “We’re hoping to start moving dirt by the summer.”
Once the preliminary work has been completed, a bid will be sent out to contractors who will move forward with the earthwork according to Freitas, officially laying the groundwork for the expansion.
A new building and parking spaces are planned to be built in the new space along with soccer fields to further accommodate the potential new foot traffic at the park. There are also new long-term goals for expansion of the walking trail alongside the park, the details of which are currently being discussed.
“Not only will we be able to facilitate soccer leagues,” Freitas said, “but it will also be possible to have fall soccer.”
The new space has currently been appraised at over $1.70 million, not counting the additional above-ground structures that will be added later on.
“We have been blessed to be able to fertilize the ground,” Freitas said, “now the fields will be more playable here.”
According to statistics from Shelbyville Parks and Recreation, numbers are up from the past several years, with last year having over 133,000 visits to the Recreation Center, making 2025 its best year yet. This most notably counted the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This expansion has long been anticipated by many Bedford County residents. With Freitas now being the Parks and Recreation Center Director for over a year, he reflected on the progress finally being made on this new project.
“With vision, leadership, and a little tenacity,” Freitas said, “you can change a lot.”