Mylan Park in Morgantown, W. Va., is expanding with $30 million worth of new recreational facilities including a BMX track, all-inclusive playground, KOA campground and hockey arena. Projected completion is in 2025-2026.
Mylan Park photo
What began in 1999 as 30 acres of donated, reclaimed mine land has since grown to 400 acres, 60 of which are athletic fields and another 180,000 sq. ft. of sports, recreation and event space spread across 14 different indoor and outdoor facilities.
To try to sum up the number and variety of amenities, programming and experiences supported within the confines of Morgantown, W. Va.'s Mylan Park would be difficult in this space.
From farmers markets, regional dog shows and pickleball tournaments, to collegiate track and field championships and national, Olympic-level diving competitions, there are always a number of reasons for thousands of visitors to stream down Mylan Park Lane from across town or across the United States.
There is already little question the park stands alone in West Virginia.
What began in 1999 as 30 acres of donated, reclaimed mine land has since grown to 400 acres, 60 of which are athletic fields and another 180,000 sq. ft. of sports, recreation and event space spread across 14 different indoor and outdoor facilities.
The park also is home to a variety of social, training and educational organizations; among others, the veteran-focused Operation Welcome Home; SteppingStones, which provides year-round recreation for children and adults with disabilities; and PACE Enterprises, where individuals with disabilities can achieve meaningful employment.
And, of course, Morgantown's Mylan Park Elementary School is located within the park's footprint.
Unique New BMX Facility Set to Open Early 2026
But if you think Mylan Park has something for everyone today, just give it another year or so.
There are four significant building projects at the complex that are either under way or will soon begin construction that represent more than $30 million in new amenities, the Dominion Post reported April 19, 2025.
In Mylan Park's upper section, just beyond the gravel overflow parking area that helps serve the track complex and the Peak Health aquatic center, park officials are tentatively looking at a fall construction kickoff for West Virginia's first multi-acre, national-level bicycle motorcross, or BMX, facility.
The finished project also may be unlike any other BMX facility in the world due to its focus on accessibility, according to the Morgantown newspaper.
The BMX project has been in the works since late 2021 when Mylan Park announced it was working with USA BMX and Action Sports Design, a track-design firm, to turn a $4.68 million American Rescue Plan Act grant and $1.2 million in local funding into a world-class attraction.
Mylan Park's initial aim was to simply land the BMX facility, but a unique opportunity came to the fore when its partners toured the park and saw what was already there, including SteppingStones and PACE.
At that point, representatives from Action Sports Design said the goal shifted from planning West Virginia's first BMX competition park to creating "the world's first all-inclusive wheel park."
Mylan Park Executive Director Ron Justice told the Dominion Post that the adaptive track concept remains the goal today.
"If all goes right, we're hoping to be able to award a bid by the end of July [or] early August in order to [begin] fall construction," he said. "That's what we would need for it to be able to open in early 2026."
While the project's scope will ultimately be determined by the bids the park receives, the current plan calls for the complex to include a USA BMX-sanctioned hard-surfaced track, a Union Cycliste Internationale competition-level, hard-surfaced pump track, a progressive bike jump and flow lines and a mountain bike skills trail loop.
Playground, Campground, Hockey Arena
In Mylan Park's lower section, SteppingStones and park officials are collaborating on what is described as a fully-inclusive, completely accessible, multi-generational playground.
The partners previously worked together in 2003 to construct the park's Miracle Field, one of the first fully accessible baseball/softball diamonds in the United States.
For the new playground, on pace to open in June 2025, SteppingStones raised the funds while Mylan Park provided the land and will handle maintenance and liability coverage.
Along with some upgrades to Miracle Field, the playground project is expected to cost about $2.5 million, including a $1.3 million grant from the state, $300,000 in matching funds from the Monongalia County Commission and in-kind contracting work from Morgantown's March-Westin Co. Inc., Mountaineer Contractors in Kingwood, W. Va., and other firms.
Much like the playground, Mylan Park's new KOA Campground will likely see its first visitors in May 2025.
The approximately 36-acre facility will have around 140 full hookup sites for RVs, six to 10 tent sites, and a dozen or so cabins, the Dominion Post learned. It also will feature a lodge, community space, dump station, a propane-filling station, recreational area, dog parks and a cart path to the aquatic center.
"We're going to have a phased opening around mid-May where I think we'll have about 40 sites available and then be fully open by July," Justice said.
The $11 million campground project received a $3.75 million boost through West Virginia's Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation funding program.
If that were not enough, Mylan Park also is scheduled to host competitive hockey this fall. The large steel structure taking shape in the heart of the park's lower bowl is a $15 million hockey arena.
"It's coming along really, really well," said Justice. "We're anticipating [having it] fully open by October 1. The facility is a very impressive facility — more so once you get inside and can see the layout, the rink and the walls.
"We're working with a lot of the stakeholders right now in looking at the operational components of it, but we're on track to open [in the fall]," he said.
The hockey arena will include 800 permanent bleacher seats and have a maximum seating capacity in the 1,100 to 1,300 range, according to Justice.
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