PENDLETON — Construction crews have started demolishing the concrete at Roy Raley Park, clearing the site beneath the ice rink and basketball court.

The Roy Raley Park rehabilitation project aims to give the park a significant facelift. The recreation area, which features pickleball and basketball courts in the summer and an ice-skating rink in the winter, has deteriorating concrete.

The reconstruction project includes replacing the treated lumber border around the playground, building an accessible route to the playground, and renovating the public restrooms. This work also addresses the vandalized wheelchair-accessible stall in the men’s restroom.

Once the concrete is rebuilt, the new surfacing will improve conditions for pickleball, include semipermanent nets and feature installed refrigeration coils to help transform the space into an ice-skating rink during the winter months.

Partly funded by a $330,000 grant from Oregon State Parks, the Roy Raley Park rehabilitation project aims to give the park a significant facelift. Pendleton Parks and Recreation received the grant through the Local Government Grant Program to rebuild the recreation area and expand its amenities.

According to the city of Pendleton, the total project cost was $560,000, but the construction cost has since risen to $850,000. City crews will handle much of the additional work, funded through the city’s building reserve and the parks trust funds.

The project became a top priority in the city’s capital improvements plan due to the park’s high usage and its central location next to the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds.

Roy Raley Park, Pendleton’s oldest park, attracts more than 50,000 visits annually from more than 28,000 individuals. The ice-skating rink alone draws more than 5,000 visitors each year on average, according to information from the city.

The city has two years to complete the project.