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Binns said the structure will feature a set of play equipment that is one unit, incorporating several activities such as a slide, climbing apparatus and ‘‘monkey bars.”

In addition to replacing the equipment, Binns said the department also plans to install a paved parking area, one or two open picnic shelters and a paved loop walking trail. Workers will construct a sitting area and provide picnic tables and grills, ‘‘contingent on funding,” she said.

The plans were discussed at a meeting Friday among representatives of the M-NCPPC, the Tri-Area Civic Association and Andre Funderburk, president of Bringing Neighborhoods Together.

Binns estimates that about $200,000 would be needed for funding projects in the park other than the playground. She added that the request for this amount reserved for the project in the capital improvement budget will be submitted during the upcoming budget cycle.

Interest in the improvement of the park gained momentum after Funderburk launched an annual basketball tournament 13 years ago. He said the neighborhood needed a facility that would engage the talents of young people and keep them out of trouble.

In 1994, Bringing Neighborhoods Together sponsored its first basketball tournament among teams from the community. Eight teams 19 years and older compete, and now youths ages 12 to 14 have their own tournament.

Attendance at the event, held July 14-15 for youth and July 21-22 for adults, has risen from 200 to about 800, Funderburk said.

Local participants in the tournament come from the Glenwillow, Booker T. Homes, Highland Gardens and Highland Park apartments.

‘‘These communities get together annually to promote neighborhood pride and to help young people focus on character building,” Funderburk said.

As a result of the interest in the tournament, he said, funds were raised to restore the basketball court, as well as adding bleachers and benches, painting facilities and building fences to prevent the ball from going in a nearby stream.

Brian Ellerbe, a former Capitol Heights resident and former head basketball coach at the University of Michigan, contributed $10,000 toward the project several years ago.

At the time, Ellerbe, who grew up in the area and graduated from Bowie High School, said he felt an obligation to give back to the community.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission provided another $10,000 to assist in upgrading the facilities.

‘‘When we started the community-oriented basketball tournament, the area was experiencing high crime and this was an avenue to bring young people and the community together,” Funderburk said.

‘‘We also stress academic achievement because those young people who perform poorly in school will not be allowed to participate in the tournament,” he said.

‘‘No dummies are allowed in the tournament and if you are a menace to the community, you are disqualified.”

Bill Catlin, regional manager of M-NCPPC, referred to the tournament as ‘‘a tremendous family activity” and a uniting experience for the community.

Denise Hawkins, president of the Tri-Area Civic Association, said the tournament breathes life into the park and the community. ‘‘It [the park] was going down fast, but the annual event has changed that trend, and that was a blessing,” she said.

‘‘We see our kids happy; they know what it means to be involved and there has never been an incident in the park.”

The young people look forward each year to compete with each other and adults have been jumping on the bandwagon, encouraging the young people to be positive and involved,” Hawkins said.