Scottsdale details first visible upgrades funded by Prop 490

Less than a year after voters approved Scottsdale’s Parks & Preserve sales tax, the city says residents are already seeing upgrades in parks, trails, ballfields, and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Officials highlighted new landscaping, court resurfacing, storm repairs, field improvements, and maintenance investments made since the tax took effect in July 2025.

Scottsdale says the 0.15% Parks & Preserve sales tax approved under Prop 490 is already translating into visible work across the city. The tax began on July 1, 2025 and is restricted to improving, maintaining, and protecting Scottsdale parks and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. City leaders are now pointing to early projects as proof that the dedicated funding stream is moving from ballot language into day-to-day results.

Among the first improvements, the city says crews have installed more than 240,000 square feet of sod, planted more than 700 flats of vegetation, and added 93 trees. It also reported more than $150,000 in storm-damage repairs, especially along Indian Bend Wash, plus resurfacing work on sport courts at five parks with upgraded basketball features. Ballfields received regrading, irrigation work, new turf, and shade-screen improvements at dugouts.

Scottsdale also says it has refreshed facilities with new paint at multiple sites, purchased maintenance equipment to improve response times, and advanced planning work for future upgrades. For residents, the update is an early checkpoint on whether a voter-approved tax is producing measurable neighborhood benefits. For movers and local business owners, it also matters because park quality, trail access, and public-space upkeep are key parts of Scottsdale’s quality-of-life and tourism pitch.