A new playground in downtown Biloxi is one of the only parks along the Mississippi Gulf Coast specially designed for people with disabilities.

Members of the Biloxi Lions Club raised money for Lopez Park, and dedicated it this past weekend.

Biloxi Lions Club member and parent Suzette Duhe said the new park should please both parents and kids.

“It’s in a nice neighborhood area it’s right behind the police station so it’s probably the safest park in the city,” Duhe said.

A $50,000 grant from the International Association of Lions Clubs helped make the park a reality.

“It was a great privilege for us to be able to provide that extra money so they could go ahead and get this park built. It was a dream of theirs for many years and I’m just happy to see it’s been completed now,” said Lions Club international director Howard Jenkins of Columbus.

Donations from citizens and sponsorships from businesses helped the local Lions Club raise another $25,000 to build the new park.

Club members say the playground will be an ideal play place for children with disabilities who attend the See and Sun Camp that the Lions Club hosts each May.