The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has received a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to begin construction on the Pascua Pueblo Park, 5303 W. Calle Torim, in southwest Tucson.
The 16-acre park will consist of an 8-acre soccer and football field, two basketball courts, two sand volleyball courts, two horseshoe throwing pits, playground equipment, and an outdoor running track.
Ruben Reyes, district director for Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, said that the tribe is constructing the park to improve the health of members.
More than 75 percent of the Yaqui nation is low to moderate income and they suffer from a high rate of diabetes, he said.
“Parks create a healthier community environment and when national organizations rate towns and cities, parks are a major contributor to a better quality of life,” Reyes said. “Seniors can go and walk and children can play on the fields and families can hang out and exercise,” he said.
There are two tribes of the Pascua Yaqui in Tucson and this is the first park on either reservation. Construction on the Pascua Pueblo Park is set to start in April and is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
