"We will announce an opening date in November, once the site has passed its final inspection and is ready for fun and laughter!" That's what Community Services chief Ashley Reynolds Marshall said in the City of Savannah's Oct. 14 update on the Daffin Park Signature Playground.
If you live in Ardsley Park, you've probably passed the fenced corner at the northwest end of Daffin Park many times. What the city has committed to for November is announcing a date, and the opening itself may come later. The playground equipment is in. Since early October the work has been about water, inspection and staffing, and the city has posted every remaining step. Once you know those steps, you can follow the progress from the sidewalk.
Five schedule estimates in two years
This project has never had one firm date. It has had a series of estimates, and each was replaced by the next.
| When it was said | Projected opening | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | Ribbon cutting in fall 2025, after a nine-month build | Savannah Morning News |
| September 2025 | Four-month build starting the second week of September | City of Savannah |
| October 1, 2025 | Completion in early spring | City of Savannah |
| June 2026 | Opening expected in August | WJCL |
| October 14, 2026 | Opening date to be announced in November | City of Savannah |
The newest entry is the first that doesn't name a month for opening. The city has tied the date to a passed inspection, so the opening depends on a pass rather than a target on the calendar.
The problem showed up after construction finished
The city has been direct about what went wrong. In its October release, it said the playground's drainage "was underperforming" after initial construction, and "ponding began on site." Because of that, the city held off on opening to the public until repairs were done.
The repair began on Oct. 6. The city's Capital Projects team, led by project manager Ashley Sullivan, started laying drainage pipe and regrading the site. Recreation & Leisure Services, under interim director Ricky Allison, is overseeing the work and has to confirm the park works properly before it opens, WTOC reported.
Drainage matters more here than on a typical playground. This one puts a splash pad and a new restroom in one corner of the park, alongside the play zones. Both bring water onto the site, which then has to drain off it. The safety concern is the reason the city gave for keeping the gate closed.
The checklist between the fence and the ribbon
The city published the remaining work in order. In practice, it's the opening schedule:
- Drainage improvements and site restoration, expected by Oct. 19, weather and proper drainage permitting
- Termite treatment, expected by Oct. 21, after the site work is finished
- Final field inspection, expected by Oct. 22
- Mulch replacement and fence construction by Recreation & Leisure, plus restroom cleaning and stocking by the Facilities department
- Operational readiness, declared once staffing, maintenance and signage are in place and the site is confirmed safe
Steps four and five are what the post's title points to. The fence work is listed after the inspection, so the fence you see now is not necessarily the final one. Staffing has been part of the plan from the beginning. When the project went to City Council in 2024, WTOC reported that the plans included staffing and a gate, so this playground was designed as a supervised site. A staffed, gated site can't open the day the dirt dries.
The city said its next update would come after the Oct. 22 inspection. Once the opening date is confirmed, a ribbon-cutting and grand opening event will follow. For the latest status, check the city's Daffin Park Signature Playground page.
What's behind the fence
The wait makes more sense once you see the scale of the project. The city calls it the capstone of its Recreation Re-Imagined initiative and one of the largest single investments made under that program. City Council approved the initiative in 2021, and the city has since put more than $4 million into recreation infrastructure citywide.
The playground is fully ADA compliant and built for ages 2 to 12. The city's release says there are seven zones and names six:
- Splish-n-splash, the splash pad zone
- Twist-n-turn
- Bump-n-jump
- Story time
- Swing-n-things
- Mega, with two large climbing units, multiple activity stations, slides, an in-ground whirl, a seesaw and shade cover
The 2024 WTOC report also listed a zip line in the plans. The city describes the inclusive design as "a space designed for all abilities so every Savannah family may play together." City officials told WJCL it is the first of its kind in Savannah because it is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
What the public record says it cost
The cost numbers have grown along with the timeline. In November 2024, the Savannah Morning News described it as a roughly $1.1 million project. City Council records show how the larger figures add up:
- Play equipment. On Nov. 26, 2024, council authorized GameTime c/o Dominica Recreation Products Inc. for the playground structures at $1,147,692. A Nov. 13, 2025 modification added $49,556.45 for sidewalks, slabs and curbing, bringing that contract to roughly $1.2 million.
- Site work. On Aug. 14, 2025, council authorized JOC Construction for $384,150 in civil and site work covering utilities, sidewalks, grading and parking improvements.
- Funding. A city funding verification for the project shows $1.95 million from the General Fund. In June 2026, WJCL called it a project of "more than $2 million."
These are contract and allocation figures, not a final cost, and none of them puts a price on the corrective drainage work, which the city's Capital Projects team is handling.
The name comes with the ribbon
There's one more reason to watch for the November announcement. Earlier this year, local students and families submitted names, and the city put three finalists to a public vote through its Let's Play, Savannah! page and social media. Voting closed June 19, 2026.
The finalists:
- Kidz Corner
- Playlandia
- Funly Park
The city said it will announce the winning name and the contest winner at the ribbon cutting, as WSAV also reported. So the opening date, the name and the grand opening all depend on the same inspection.
Daffin Park is already drawing a crowd without it
The rest of the park hasn't waited. On Oct. 11, Forsyth Farmers' Market held its Fall Harvest Picnic under the live oaks at the center of Daffin Park, near Victory Drive and Waters Avenue. It was the event's first year there, after earlier years at the Old Dairy Farm on Savannah's east side as the Farm Picnic, WJCL reported. We covered the park's summer schedule in The Ardsley Park Summer Runs Through Daffin Park. When the playground opens, it will give the park's northwest corner a draw of its own, a short trip from Ardsley Park.
Until then, the closest comparison is the Forsyth Park playground, which got new surfacing in the same city program. Crews replaced and expanded its poured rubber surface, swapped worn wood fiber for longer-lasting rubber mulch, and reopened it on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. When the Daffin Park opening date is announced, it will come from the city's playground page, followed by a ribbon cutting where Savannah finds out whether the winning name was Kidz Corner, Playlandia or Funly Park.
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