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2026 Park Bond Referendum

Fairfax County voters will decide on Nov. 3, 2026 whether to approve an $180 million bond for the Fairfax County Park Authority to support parks maintenance, capital improvement projects and other needs across the park system. Improvements that would be funded by the bond include:

Building new parks
Repairing playgrounds that need rehabilitation
Upgrading aging rec centers
Maintaining existing facilities
Acquiring property for recreation and historic and cultural preservation

The Fairfax County park system includes 424 parks, 340+ miles of trails, 60 staffed sites and much more. Our parks are the places where Fairfax County’s 1.2 million residents go for recreation, community-building, relaxation and connection to nature, historic places and one another. Visitors made nearly 26 million trips to Fairfax County’s parks, playgrounds, rec centers, golf courses and nature centers last year.

For general information about the use of bonds visit Bonds: Frequently Asked Questions.

For more information about the 2026 park bond, explore these Frequently Asked Questions.

2026 Park Bond-Funded Improvements

Deferred maintenance
- The park bond would provide $51 million in funding for planning, design and construction to repair, replace and upgrade park facilities, maintaining capacity and modernizing amenities to contemporary standards and codes.
- Playgrounds, athletic fields and irrigation, infrastructure, trails, lighting, amusements, athletic courts, and shelters are among the facilities that would be improved.
Natural and cultural resources and land acquisition
- Inventory and assessment of historic resources, building and strengthening preservation systems, development projects, archeology and resource acquisitions would be addressed with $12 million in bond funding.
New construction
- New park amenities in existing parks could include playgrounds, skatepark, trails, revenue generating amenities, or splash pads with $9 million in bond funding.
Rec centers
- The 2026 bond would provide $89 million for renovations, including design, repairs, upgrades and capital improvements. This includes a new Audrey Moore Rec Center and deferred maintenance and concept plans for Franconia and Providence Rec Center.
New and existing parks
- 1) Planning, design and/or construction of a new park or 2) full renovation existing one to meet demand, improve equity, or enhance functionality would take place utilizing $19 million in bond funding.

bond programs fairfax county park authority g.o. bonds (in millions) 1959-2026

To finance large-scale construction and renovation work, Fairfax County sells bonds, which allows the county to pay for these projects over time. Bonds are a form of long-term borrowing used by most local governments to finance public facilities and infrastructure. Bond financing makes it possible to build facilities and infrastructure based on future population estimates and to spread the cost equitably over the useful life of the facilities. This kind of financing allows the cost of a facility to be spread over a number of years so that each generation of taxpayers contributes a proportionate share for the use of these long-term investments.

By maintaining its triple-A bond rating, Fairfax County bonds typically are purchased by investors at low rates, saving the county considerable amounts of money that might otherwise be paid in interest. The county estimates that, since 1978, the triple-A rating has saved taxpayers over $1 billion in financing costs compared to industry benchmarks of other issuers of municipal bonds.

To finance large-scale construction and renovation work, the county sells bonds, which allows payment for these projects over time versus having to use General Fund dollars up front.

Fairfax County has maintained a “triple-A” bond rating for decades. The triple-A rating allows the county to accomplish major projects at significant value to county residents.

For more details, see Fairfax County’s frequently asked questions on bonds.

The Park Bond would provide $180 million for parks maintenance, capital improvement projects, and other needs across the park system. Bond funding would be utilized to make significant improvements, such as:

Repairing playgrounds that need rehabilitation
Improve aging rec centers
Building new parks
Maintaining existing facilities
Acquiring property for recreation and historic and cultural preservation

The 2026 park bond funding breakdown is as follows:

$89 million for rec centers
$51 million for deferred capital renovations
$19 million for 1) planning, design and/or construction of a new park or 2) fully renovate an existing one to meet demand, improve equity, or enhance functionality
$12 million for natural, cultural and land acquisition
$9 million for new construction

Audrey Moore Rec Center, the county’s oldest at nearly 50, recorded more than 333,000 visits last year and is showing its age. Bond funding would enable the construction of a new rec center in its place to better serve the community’s current needs and preferences.

The rec center faces a number of operational challenges, including

Undersized fitness center
Popular programs are waitlisted 100 percent of the time
Visitor traffic flow at the entrance creates bottlenecks
ADA compliance issues-hallways, egress, bathrooms
On going challenges with pool water temperature – space conflicts between users
Current pool design poses challenges to beginner swim classes for children
One family changing room
Limited programming space

The design and construction of a new Audrey Moore Rec Center would achieve the following goals:

Develop a state-of-the-art accessible recreation center that serves as a welcoming community hub, supports a wide range of recreational, wellness, and social opportunities and varying abilities.
Expand and enhance the fitness center to serve a larger and more diverse customer base, including beginners, young adults, active older adults, and specialized fitness users.
Provide a unique aquatics experience that attracts new customers while better meeting the needs of children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Increase program space to address the growing demand for traditional recreation programs while supporting the community’s expanding range of interests and activities.
Maximize flexible, multi-use spaces that can accommodate a variety of programs and activities, allowing the center to serve the greatest number of customers possible now and well into the future.

Yes. The Park Bond would provide $51 million in funding for planning, design and construction to repair, replace and upgrade park facilities, maintaining capacity and modernizing amenities to contemporary standards and codes.

Recently, the park bond referendums transitioned to a six-year cycle. Historically, park bonds were presented to voters every four years.

Parks, playgrounds, trails and other amenities require periodic upgrades, replacements, repairs and maintenance in order to ensure high-quality experiences for park visitors. With 424 parks of all sizes and types in the Fairfax County park system, park renovations can include the replacement of equipment, buildings, systems, and other essential park elements, as well as planning and design to reimagine existing parks. All of these needs contribute to the cost of park renovations.

Park projects are selected based on age, park condition, equity data and the potential for the park to transform recreational experiences in the community.

The bond referendum will provide funding for essential maintenance and improvements in the park system across the county. Absent bond funding, Fairfax County Park Authority lacks the financial resources to address the park system’s extensive maintenance backlog and implement capital improvement projects. The Park Authority has $201 million in unfunded maintenance needs across the county park system; bond funding would enable it to address $51 million of immediate maintenance needs. The cost to make upgrades to rec centers and other amenities are expected to be more costly in the future if they are not funded through the 2026 park bond referendum.

For those interested in representing your district to support the park bond, please provide your nomination to Daidria Grayson at daidria.grayson@fairfaxcounty.gov and Andy Grabel at andrew.grabel@fairfaxcounty.gov (MarComm, FCPA).

Park Authority

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Department Resources

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2026 Park Bond Referendum

2026 Park Bond-Funded Improvements