Graham Park

The name goes back further than you’d think

Graham Park isn’t named after a donor or a committee vote — it’s named after Mathew and William Graham, two brothers who were among the very first European settlers in what became Cranberry Township, arriving in 1796. They acquired 200 acres of “Depreciation Land” — property the young United States handed out to pay Revolutionary War soldiers when cash was scarce. Over two centuries later, the family name is still stamped on one of the busiest corners of the township.

The park itself is much newer. It opened in May 2009 on land that had been permitted, designed, and engineered from the ground up — wetlands mitigation, stream bank stabilization, floodplain analysis, the works — before a single field was laid down. What resulted is more than 100 acres, making it Cranberry’s largest community park.

Since 2009, the park has carried a corporate name too — UPMC Passavant Sportsplex at Graham Park, thanks to a naming sponsorship — but almost everyone still just calls it Graham Park.

What’s actually there

The scale of it is easy to underestimate until you’re walking it:

• Six baseball fields, including a Miracle League field
• Four soccer fields
• Three football/lacrosse fields
• Over 2 miles of paved trails, split into a Football Trail Loop, Soccer Trail Loop, and Baseball Trail
• Two tennis courts and 19 pickleball courts
• Two basketball courts, plus horseshoe and bocce courts
• A dek hockey rink
• A one-acre catch-and-release fishing pond, with a Scouting Plaza built for Boy and Girl Scouts to meet and run community service projects
• A community garden, Little Free Library, and the Pirates Charities “Out of the Park” playground
• Multiple concession buildings, fitness stations, and a bike repair station along the trail

The Miracle League field has a real story behind it

One of the six baseball fields is built specifically for the Miracle League — adaptive baseball for kids with disabilities. It wasn’t a standard township budget line item: Pittsburgh Pirates Charities and former Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez donated $200,000 toward it, with Cranberry resident Mike Sherry credited with helping bring in additional local support to get it built.

The rules, for what they’re worth

No pets, no alcohol, no off-road vehicles, no skateboarding, and no golfing or chipping on the fields. Sections can close due to weather. Otherwise, it’s open to the public — no fees, no reservations needed for casual use of the trails and open space.