NEWPORT, Ky. — A long-discussed overhaul of Newport's Festival Park moved closer to reality this week as the Newport City Commission approved a design-build agreement for the project.
Festival Park improvements have been in development for years, and at one time were even a $62.5 million project. That number has dwindled to $8.5 million to make the project more feasible and allow the city to actually implement it.
The Newport City Commission voted to execute the agreement with Prus Construction for the project at its Feb. 9 special meeting.
The park project will be completed in two phases. Phase one includes taking the architectural designs and creating engineering and construction plans, and ensuring they are within budget. Phase two is beginning construction.
Key features of the park project include:
- Retaining wall
- Central plaza (for live performances and events)
- Outdoor fitness area
- Water features, including a splash pad
- Landscaping and trees
- State-of-the-art playground
- Multi-use path (30-feet wide, for walking and biking)
“Besides the pool that’s up on the hill, there’s not a lot of access to water for people in the heat of the summer, so incorporating a splash pad with the playground, I think, is a huge thing,” said Newport City Commissioner Aaron Sutherland. “I think it’ll draw people from The Levee to the park and from the park to the aquarium and The Levee too.”
The current park is an asphalted area used for Newport’s festivals, such as Goetta Fest and Italian Fest.
“That asphalt was put down with a temporary intent, and what it does is it brings heat to our community, heat to our events and makes them not as rich as they will be when we have trees and grass and everything,” said Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr.
Newport Municipal Specialist Josh Tunning, who gave the park improvement presentation on Monday, said the retaining wall would capture between 35,000 and 40,000 square feet of additional green space that is not currently there.
“We will be doing continued fundraising outside of this budget to ensure that we have high-quality amenities as this park project moves forward,” Tunning said.
He said the city has the money for the project through bonding, grants and other funding sources for the features the project already lists, but additional funding would include items like swinging benches, as people may be familiar with in Cincinnati’s Smale Park.
“Right now we have zero amenities down there, so this is going to take it from zero to six, and then these other items will get added, because I think people will want to be a part of it and contribute and donate to have swings and other amenities as the park continues to grow and get better over time,” Guidugli said.
Newport Commissioner Ken Rechtin and multiple residents asked about water access at the park for things like fishing, kayaking and boaters to get off at the park.
Guidugli said there will be a landing area; it just needs to be designed and implemented. Tunning said the current plans do include access to the water for people to walk down to.
One of the tricky parts of the project, Tunning said, is a new pipe that Sanitation District No. 1 needs to install below Riverboat Road. Because of that, he did not have hard timelines for the project’s construction phase but said the city would after a meeting with SD1 this week.
Tunning estimated that phase one would take about six months, which would get the city past its festival season.
The Newport Park Committee was reconvened in April 2025 to get the ball rolling. The committee met for several weeks, reviewing feedback the city has received over the years and working with Hub+Weber Architects to turn that feedback into a plan.
The city also received a technical assistance grant through the National Park Service, which gained them two staff members who will be working with the city on the project.
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