American Playground & Recreation

Midwest’s Top Playground Equipment Contractor

The American Playground & Recreation is the Midwest’s premier playground and recreational equipment contractor that can tackle every aspect of your playground project, both big and small. From design to installation to upkeep, our in-house team of experienced project planners, installers and inspectors will ensure that your playground, park, sporting and other outdoor recreational areas are perfect from start to finish.

Our expert playground professionals are extensively trained to evaluate your park, recreational or playground project and assist you in planning your dream playground equipment design. After you have decided on what furnishings and structures you would like, we will provide you with a site layout so you can see all the components at once and determine if it lays out just like you imagined. Then we can adjust and make changes as you see fit until it’s perfect.

Consultation

A park bench overlooking a play structure in primary colors

American Playground & Recreation has access to a huge selection of playground structures, site amenities, park furnishings, surfacing and shade structures, so they can bring any design you can imagine to life. During our consultation, we will start to pinpoint specific options. Your playground items will ultimately be chosen based on the following factors:

  • Preference
  • Projected age range
  • Purpose
  • Capacity
  • Location
  • Budget
  • Total space

Installation

All recreational and playground equipment installations are completed by experienced professionals. American Playground & Recreation is certain that their installation process is done securely and efficiently by giving every aspect of the equipment close attention. They are passionate about creating an enjoyable and safe environment for all those who want to enjoy the recreational space. American Playground & Recreation offers a fully equipped solution—specializing in in-person or virtual consultations, computer designed equipment, efficient manufacturing, and safe installation.

Safety

Safety is always at the forefront of everything American Playground & Recreation does. There is no way to prevent every single playground-related injury but one easy way to prevent as many injuries as possible is to have a professional perform frequent maintenance inspections. Our inspectors are CPSI certified. This CPSI certification proves that our installers have the most comprehensive and up-to-date training on playground safety.

Inclusive Play

Inclusive play allows for all children of all abilities to learn, grow and play together in the same recreational environment. A playground is inclusive when it removes the barriers of exclusion by providing a sensory rich play experience for all children. Inclusive playgrounds are a place of fun and enjoyment where everyone is included. These playgrounds are designed to be multi-sensory, safe environments. American Playground & Recreation’s inclusive playground sets promote multi-sensory play, integrated play, and physical accommodations. Having an inclusive playground can show to everyone who enjoys it that people of all abilities enjoy exploring, playing, interacting and learning.

Characteristics of inclusive and accessible play equipment

American Playground & Recreation also offers various resources to help you come up with the funding for your playground project. Grants, fundraising community builds and purchasing contracts are all ways we can assist you with to get the perfect playground for your budget.

Vibrant play ground with climbing features, slides, steps and fireman's pole
  • Several non-profits, corporations and even the government recognize the importance of playgrounds. These institutions have set up grants to help pay for playgrounds and park areas. Playground grants are an incredible resource when you are figuring out how exactly you are going to pay for new playground and park equipment. Many different playground grant options are available, at the local, state and national levels. These grant programs help to fund park equipment, physical fitness and playgrounds.
  • Fundraising is an effective way to reach your budget goals for a playground or recreational project. There are many different ways to put together a fundraiser (see a list of resources here). When planning a fundraiser, it is important to keep in mind that everyone’s goal, budget, and community are different—what works for one community might not work for yours and vice versa.
  • When a group of people from the same neighborhood, division or city volunteer and come together to build a playground, that’s considered a community build. This can cut a portion of the installation costs and incorporate a feeling of involvement with your community members.
  • We make getting the most competitive price easy at American Playground & Recreation. We offer purchasing contracts (also known as buying agreements or buying cooperatives), which are nationwide procurement services with relationships with many different companies for ultra-competitive goods and services. These cooperative purchasing networks have professional teams that wield their immense buying power and top of the line suppliers so you get the best bid for the highest quality product. 

As a division of The American Fence Company, American Playground & Recreation enjoys access to the numerous resources of our parent company, in addition to the combined buying power that keeps us extremely competitive on price but also allows us to offer additional customizations and services you simply cannot find anywhere else. 

American Playground & Recreation’s playgrounds, site amenities, shelters and more can be found throughout the Midwest. Our service areas include Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Rochester, Minnesota; Kansas City and Wichita, Kansas; Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Des Moines, Sioux City and Iowa City, Iowa.