Special Programs

Community recreation opportunities are available for all persons regardless of abilities or disabilities. The City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department encourages and supports the participation of individuals with disabilities in all programs and activities. To facilitate opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in leisure pursuits, programs may be modified, when necessary, to provide the most successful opportunities for participation.

The Special Programs Section of the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department provides outreach activities for people of all ages with mental and physical disabilities, and are designed to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being. For more information on programming, please contact us through the Customer Service Center.

Freedom Playground is Tampa's first boundless playground where children of all abilities can play side by side. The boundless playground designation comes from the National Center for Boundless Playgrounds and recognizes facilities that are inclusive for people of all abilities. The playground, located at Macfarlane Park, features easy-to-navigate surfaces and wide ramps as well as inclusive swings, seesaws, slides and sensory stimulation areas.

The playground was made possible, in part, thanks to the Freedom Playground Foundation. A not for profit organization that raises money for barrier-free playgrounds and supports recreational opportunities for people of all abilities.

Rowlett Park Adult Wheelchair Softball Field

Rowlett Park is also home to the first adult wheelchair softball field in the state of Florida. Using an underutilized tennis court, the Parks and Recreation Department painted the appropriate lines for wheelchair softball competitions. The field can used for wheelchair softball and in-line hockey games for all players, but is particularly exciting because it increases the utilization of the facility by making it available to persons of all physical capabilities. Rowlett Park is the home field for the Tampa Bay Rays Wheelchair Softball Team.

Parks and Recreation Outreach Program Locations