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Waterfront Park’s Great Lawn gets a new name — and $1 million dollars

You’ll want to dog-ear this page to remember the new name.

The skyline of Louisville, Kentucky. Tall buildings occupy the focal point of the photograph, with a large greenspace and a bridge in the foreground.

The Great Lawn opened on Oct. 19, 1998.

Photo courtesy Louisville Tourism

Waterfront Park’s Great Lawn is home to vendor events, a music festival, and soon a new title.

The section of Waterfront Park on either side of I-64, kitty-corner from Slugger Field, will officially be dubbed the “TurfMutt Great Lawn” at a re-dedication event on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6:40 a.m.

What’s in a name? In this case, lots of cash. The new moniker comes with a $1 million, 10-year sponsorship agreement from The TurfMutt Foundation.

TurfMutt is an organization focused on advocating for outdoor living + the maintenance of parks, yards, and other green spaces. This is not the first park in LOU to bear the TurfMutt name — Mulligan Bark Park opened downtown last year, named after the foundation’s spokesdog.

The new dedication event on Wednesday, Oct 16 will take place just before the Mulligan 5K Fun Run + Walk sends runners and walkers across the Big Four Bridge. And yes, Mulligan the spokesdog will be there.

Fun fact: The Great Lawn was one of the first pieces of Waterfront Park to be developed into a community green space.

Here’s a look at some of TurfMutt’s other offerings:

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