At 500 acres, Braemar Park is the largest recreational space in the City of Edina. It is already home to Braemar Golf Course, Braemar Golf Dome, Braemar Arena, Braemar Field, Courtney Fields Complex and the South Metro Public Safety Training Facility.
What We Are Doing
While most of the land in Braemar Park already is in use, several opportunities for improvements were identified and explored starting in 2017 with the help of resident input at community meetings and through online surveys.
The Braemar Park Master Plan balances the most-sought amenities with the park's environmental and natural resource needs. It includes:
Walking trails
Mountain biking trails
Cross-country skiing trails
Pickleball courts
Baseball complex improvements
Wayfinding signs and trail connections
Natural resource restoration
Improved parking and access to Braemar Golf Course, Braemar Arena and Courtney Fields
Three amendments to the Braemar Park Master Plan, based on community requests and further studies, were made in 2022:
Special Project Request for Braemar Ice Arena Expansion. This would add a fourth sheet of ice to Braemar Arena, with studies showing rental revenue of this fourth sheet would exceed its costs.
Arena Complex Capital Infrastructure. The Arena has about $13.5 million of unfunded capital improvement needs, including refrigeration, electrical systems and ADA improvements. These were alluded to in the original master plan but are fully detailed now.
Facility Needs and Revenue Assessment Study. Demand for community programming space has increased since 2018. This would study the Braemar Golf Course Clubhouse and the Braemar Golf Dome for facility needs, community needs and future revenue potential.
Funding Voters approved a sales tax referendum Nov. 8, 2022, that will allow the City to invest $39.3 million in Parks & Recreation improvements.
Of that, $8.1 million will go to Braemar Park for the outlined improvements. Another $13.5 million will go to updates at Braemar Arena.
The half-cent sales tax went into effect April 1, 2023.
November 2023 Referendum
Voters will consider whether to use the same half-cent sales tax to add a fourth sheet of ice to Braemar Arena, build an improved drop-off/pick-up area, add parking and expand the lobby. This is in addition to the $13.5 million already approved for infrastructure including new roofing, restrooms, locker rooms and rink cooling systems.
The local sales tax rate would not change if this were approved. The money would come from the existing sales tax approved by voters in November 2022.
Visit EdinaatPlay.org to see detailed information about the referendum.
Next Steps
The Braemar Park Master Plan, which included extensive public input, created the concept designs for these projects. Funding has been based on those designs.
The process to take those concept designs and finalize them, do any required additional studies and engineering, and create a construction timeline began after the referendum was approved.
A timeline for construction, which will occur in phases, will be announced as soon as it is developed.
Note: A buckthorn removal study, unrelated to the master plan, is happening in the northwest section of the park. Learn more about it on the Park Projects page.