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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — If 8-year-old Brian Coats is any indication, the new EveryBody Can Play playground at Huntsville’s Brahan Spring Park is going to be a huge hit.

Brian, who has Down syndrome, was one of the first children to try out the handicap-accessible playground following a dedication ceremony Wednesday morning.

“This is great,” said Brian’s father, Charles Coats. “We’re very pleased.”

Local Kiwanis and Optimist club members raised about $450,000 to build the playground on the former site of a city tennis complex. The Associated Builders and Contractors of North Alabama paid for an adjacent picnic pavilion.

The city contributed about $40,000 to the project.

“This is about taking care of kids,” Mayor Tommy Battle said before snipping a ceremonial red ribbon. “This is what you call quality of life right here.”

While many playgrounds have a piece or two of handicap-accessible equipment, EveryBody Can Play is designed entirely for children with special needs.

The jungle gym has wide, gently sloping ramps for kids in wheelchairs.

The swings have back supports and shoulder harnesses.

In case of falls, a layer of rubber beneath the playground’s artificial turf promises a soft landing.

“We recognized a need for a playground that every child could play on,” said Russ Grimes, past president of the Metro Kiwanis Club of Huntsville. “That’s why we wanted to do this and have worked for three years to get here.”

Kiwanis and Optimist members intend to raise another $250,000 to build a water park for kids next door, Grimes said.

Steve Ivey, the city’s recreation services manager, said the lighted playground will attract more families to Brahan Spring Park. It will be open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk, he said.

“This is going to bring new life into the park,” Ivey said Wednesday. “We took an old eyesore (the closed tennis complex) and turned it into something that’s going to rejuvenate the park.”

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