Lemon Hill hosted the world for Fan Fest. Now, Philadelphia will spend millions to improve it for locals.
The FIFA Fan Festival brought hundreds of thousands of people from across the planet to Philadelphia's Lemon Hill for a celebration of soccer this summer. Now, as the massive stage and vendor tents have left the natural scenery, the park will undergo a different transformation.
"In spite of the fact that Fan Fest did take away the park for a while, I think it became sort of the momentum generator for what's to come," Aparna Palantino, who heads the city's Capital Program Office, said.
CBS News Philadelphia was the only TV station to get a first look at the nearly $7 million in upgrades and enhancements planned for the rolling hills in East Fairmount Park.
At the center of the project is a new 43,500-square-foot age-inclusive playground to replace the current structure, which has been in place for decades.
Palantino said the playground will incorporate the park's natural features, like slides that use Lemon Hill's natural hillside.
"We wanted it to fit within the context of the park. It is a lovely, very natural, pristine setting. Has a lot of historical character. And it was important for us to maintain that," Palantino said.
Aside from the playground, the plan includes renovations to the popular basketball courts at Lemon Hill and to the nearby baseball field. Two new ADA-accessible picnic pavilions with seating will be built. More than 50 light posts are set to be added around the park, increasing lighting and safety. And crews plan to plant more than 100 new trees.
"Across the site, we want to return a lot of the tree canopy that was lost over the years," Palantino said.
Officials said the city has looked into making many of these changes for years but never had the funding to do it. That changed with the FIFA Fan Festival, when officials built partnerships that got the project across the finish line.
Officials said Philadelphia Soccer 2026 and the William Penn Foundation will kick in a total of $4 million for the plans, with the city picking up the rest of the bill.
Some enhancements were also made prior to Fan Fest opening in June. New walking paths were added for better access to the park. Roads were paved. Trees were trimmed, and invasive plants were cleared out.
But for this portion, Palantino said they focused on what community members told them they wanted here.
"We had over 200 individual community members participate in over 300 surveys to get their feedback on what they wanted to see," Palantino said. "We have very good stewards and neighbors who take care of this park on a regular basis. And it was really important that all of their voices were heard."
Signs are already posted showing some of the planned changes. The current playground and basketball courts are fenced off, getting ready for the changes. City officials on Monday will host a ceremonial planting of the first new tree.
Officials hope the work can be done and upgrades open to the public in the spring.
