Milwaukee City Wire

On Thursday, June 20, Milwaukee Recreation celebrated the grand reopening of Carmen Playfield alongside community members and local leaders. The completion of Carmen Playfield (7320 W. Carmen Ave.) marks the continued effort by Milwaukee Recreation to transform its network of 52 playfields throughout the city. Renovations were completed in the fall of 2023 with significant input from local residents.

"Our number one priority is to ensure that all members of our community have access to quality recreation facilities," Milwaukee Recreation director Lynn Greb said. "I want to thank the community members who really supported and inspired this project. Because of those collective efforts, we really turned this dream into a reality and created a recreation space that is really going to benefit the community for many years to come."

The renovations at Carmen Playfield included an upgraded walking loop, age-appropriate playground equipment, a splash pad, basketball practice play areas, shade structures, an Aventus basketball wall, and tuj lub courts—a popular game within the surrounding neighborhood.

"Well-maintained and vibrant playfields, such as the new Carmen Playfield, add to the overall pride, vitality, and quality of our neighborhoods," Mark Chambers Jr., the alderman representing Milwaukee's second district, said. "It is safe to say we have a very unique, high-quality space here for the second district."

Part of that unique nature springs forth from the tuj lub courts on the north end of the site. Tuj lub is a popular game with the Hmong community in the area. Carmen Playfield now hosts just the fourth set of tuj lub courts in the nation.

"We planned together to [build] these [courts] for Hmong tuj lub players," neighborhood resident Kou Lee said. "Not just for them but for any group who wants to play tuj lub; they are welcome. This is the first time that things like this happened [here in Milwaukee], so I'm really happy."

Milwaukee Recreation operates a playgrounds program throughout summer with staff supervising 19 different playground sites from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on weekdays, providing enrichment activities, play opportunities, and free meals. Staff will be on-site at Carmen Playfield this summer to ensure safe, fun activities for young people from June 20 through mid-August.

In addition to Carmen Playfield's renovation, Milwaukee Recreation has transformed and reopened nine other playfields in Milwaukee since 2019. Construction is currently underway at Modrzejewski Playfield and Wick Playfield. Community engagement events have also been hosted by Milwaukee Recreation at Emigh Playfield in 2022 and Metcalfe Playfield in 2023 to discuss future renovations and design processes.