Komatke Boys & Girls Club, Fiesta Sports Foundation Unveil New Playground

March 20, 2026

Jeston Morris

Community Newsperson

KOMATKE, Ariz. — The Boys & Girls Club of the Gila River Indian Community - Komatke Branch, Fiesta Sports Foundation, and Salt River Project (SRP) partnered to build a new playground, with SRP volunteers completing the structure in four to six hours. A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed later that day on March 6.

Children ran onto the playground with excitement, climbed the nets, sliding down the slide and testing out the bars. An early teen jumped onto the hopscotch, eager to try it out. Youth embraced the new space with excitement.

Mark Clavell, chief operating officer for Boys & Girls Club, said the Komatke branch applied for a new playground and was selected. A crew came in last week and removed the old playground, and more than 70 SRP volunteers arrived in the morning to install and set up the playground and beautify the area with mural paintings and games.

“We’re excited and honored for Fiesta Sports Foundation  selecting Komatke Boys & Girls

Club for a new playground,” Cavell said. Erik Moses, executive director for Fiesta Sports Foundation, said the youth now have access to a 1,400-square-foot playground after the previous one had been closed for four years due to safety concerns

.

“There was certainly a need here at Komatke Boys & Girls Club. We contributed to meeting that need,” Moses said. “Kids can now go outside and play on a new and safe playground,”

Gov. Stephen Row Lewis reflected on the improvements, noting that the old steel playground would get hot during the summer. The structure is colorful, shaded by a large canopy, and surrounded by mulch. The sidewalk features hopscotch and other games.

“This is a beautiful playground for the youth. The playground is unique because it has O’tham and Pee Posh language signage. It’s very important for the youth to see their language; it's part of their heritage,” Gov. Lewis said. “The Komatke Boys & Girls Club, Fiesta Sports Foundation, and SRP did an outstanding job in building and unveiling this new playground.”

Terrence Peters, cultural director for the Komatke Boys & Girls Club, worked with elders who are native speakers of O’otham and Pee Posh to provide the translation for playground signage. The signs include English, O’otham, and Pee Posh.