Downey Park

I was one of those kids who tried just about every sport available to me in the hope that I would excel in one. I sucked at them all and eventually came to terms with the fact that I’m just not athletic. In fact, I’m totally uncoordinated and pretty much the last person you should pick in that humiliating team selection game thing. My sporting pursuits meant that I spent a lot of time at Downey Park. Whether I was tripping over clods of dirt on the hockey fields, tripping over the bases on the softball diamonds, or tripping over a painted line on the netball courts (do you see a pattern here?), I was always at Downey Park on a Saturday morning in one hideous uniform or another.
Because I live quite nearby, even though I’ve given up my dreams of Olympic gold I still come to Downey Park quite often. For one thing they have a nice big enclosed dog park area at the back which is ideal for my two crazy terriers, but there’s also a nice walking path along the creek which will lead you to City Farm. The playground at Downey Park was recently redone and now includes a dizzying whirly-​gig that I can never walk past without taking for a spin and some swings under the shade of big jacarandas. There’s always something to do at Downey Park, even for those of us who are athletically-​challenged.

Downey Park is home to a lot of sports associations in Brisbane. The Women’s Hockey Association of Brisbane, the Softball Association as well as the Brisbane Table Tennis Association can all be found along Downey Park. It is THE park to go to if you’re an avid sports person of almost any kind.
They’ve got heaps of basketball courts, and a grassy area with basketball hoops there if you just want to practice shooting hoops. They’ve got at least two football sized fields for use. A bikepath runs past Downey Park and so cyclists can either continue on or have a rest stop at the park. At the southern end of the park, there’s a fenced off lease dog area with training jumps put in place for owners who want to train their dogs or teach them tricks.
The sporting options are many, and the facilities are fantastic there. It’s a great park that really allows you to do everything you could possibly want to do in a park, except perhaps skate. No skating facilities. Other than that, Downey Park is your oyster.