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PORT NECHES — Preliminary work has begun on Tugboat Island 2.0, days ahead the official date for construction to begin.

On Friday the site on Grigsby Avenue was already filled with workers drilling holes in preparation of the build. All of the equipment for the project are in, bathrooms have arrived and tents were being placed in anticipation of week one of the building which is Feb. 19 through Feb. 23. Week two is from Feb. 26 to March 2.

The construction, like that of the previous playground, relies on volunteers. There is still a need for volunteers, skilled and unskilled. To sign-up to volunteer visit tugboatisland.com

Eric Sullivan, general/fundraising coordinator, said they have about 50 percent of the spots filled but people can still show up and help. 

Even so, Sullivan said he isn’t worried and feels some volunteers may take multiple shifts.

Some background from the Rebuild committee/Eric Sullivan

The original playground was a cherished spot for many kids in our community, built in 1996, but unfortunately, it was dismantled in 2020 due to age and deterioration. This park was not just a local playground; it hosted children from as far away as Jasper, Lumberton, and Vidor, with up to 15 buses visiting annually for school events. For 25 years, it served as a place where countless memories were made.

Since then, we have been striving to raise funds to rebuild the park. We began by inviting students from PNGISD to submit drawings for the new design, resulting in over 400 entries that inspired our park architect from leathers and Associates. The same company that helped build the first park but now his son is leading the way. The new playground will span over 20,000 square feet, making it one of the largest community-built parks in the United States.

Now we just needed the $1 million to build the new park. After four long years we hit every business, refinery, etc and we only had raised around $200,000 and I was ready to give up. I even had some of the early donors asking for money back…I told the mayor in January of 2024 if it didn’t happen this year we were going to have to make the decision to give the money we had raised back. Well I prayed and prayed everyday that month for something to happen.  That something DID indeed happen.

I was asked to meet a man at the city hall a few months later to discuss a possible donation. The 96-year-old Ed Hogenson walked in the room with a cane and I shook his hand, I told him where we were with the park and how much we had raised so far to this point. We needed over 800,000 to finish the fundraising efforts. It was incredible what he told me in the next sentence…”son we are going to build this park for the kids” and he wrote a check for over $700,000. It brought me to tears and I just could not believe it. His donation started a domino effect and another $100,000 was donated the next week to get us across the finish line. 

We are now ready to begin the build and need volunteers to bring this vision to life. The construction will take place from Feb. 19 to Feb. 23, and then again from Feb. 26 to March 2. This community-driven project will unite friends, neighbors, local businesses, schools, and sports teams to create a new playground in just ten days.