Elo & Nitzan, in cooperation with the Yeruham Municipality, announced plans to build a new NIS 6 million public playground in the southern town’s HaOfek neighborhood, according to company material provided Monday. The project, called Lion Garden, is intended to serve families with a large-scale play and climbing complex designed for children of different ages and abilities.
The centerpiece of the park will be an eight-meter-high lion-shaped structure covering about 250 square meters. It will include climbing walls, ladders, internal net systems, tube slides, and elevated viewing points, according to the announcement.
A new public space for families
The park will also include a zipline, a bowl-shaped carousel, an accessible seesaw, bird’s-nest swings, a designed swing arch, and a separate accessible play structure for toddlers and older children. The company said the complex was planned to encourage movement, imagination, balance, and shared play.
Yeruham Mayor Nili Aharon said the project reflects the municipality’s focus on quality of life and accessible public spaces. “The choice of the Lion Garden was born from the desire to ignite children’s imagination and bring the community play and sports facilities at the highest level in the world,” she said.
Part of wider Negev development
The project comes as Yeruham has been cited in recent Jerusalem Post reporting as part of broader development trends in southern Israel. JPost reported that southern Israel’s real estate market has drawn renewed attention, including in cities such as Beersheba, Dimona, and Yeruham.
Yeruham has also been highlighted as part of the Negev’s growing innovation map. In September 2025, JPost reported that Yeruham was positioning itself as a hub for Israel’s drone and unmanned aerial systems sector, with an innovation center and UAV test field planned around the desert town.
Other recent JPost reporting has pointed to investment in peripheral communities, including a KKL-JNF initiative that listed Yeruham among towns included in a housing pilot. JPost also reported that Israel Land Authority master plan agreements across the country included Yeruham among local authorities tied to broader urban infrastructure planning.
Company says design focuses on movement and inclusion
Helen Ruth Nitzan, founder and CEO of Elo & Nitzan, said the company was proud to plan and establish the park in Yeruham’s HaOfek neighborhood. She said the lion-shaped structure and the wider complex would offer children “an exceptional experience of play, movement, and climbing.”
Elo & Nitzan was founded in 1997 and works in the design, production, import, and installation of playgrounds, fitness facilities, street furniture, and lifeguard stations, according to the company material.