El Mirage, Arizona – September 23, 2026 -- Compass Datacenters is funding a 98-foot-by-60-foot permanent shade structure over the outdoor basketball court at the Northwest Valley Family YMCA, addressing the top-ranked amenity request in the City of El Mirage's 2025 Parks and Recreation Master Plan Community Survey.
City council approved the contract with vendor Shade N' Net on June 16, with construction set for completion by year-end
The structure covers a hard-surface court that Arizona summer heat renders unusable for months at a time, forcing coaches to push youth practices into evening hours and keeping preschool programs indoors. Shade N' Net has already completed six other shade structures across El Mirage's park system, and the City will maintain the new unit as part of its management of the YMCA facility.
Compass shares a property line with the YMCA branch and is developing a data center campus in El Mirage
The donation stems from a direct question Compass posed to branch executive Mary Davis upon breaking ground on its adjacent campus: what her members needed most. Davis, who has led the branch for five years, had kept a shade structure on the wish list the entire time. The City's Parks and Recreation Department and City Management team carried the project to Council.
"For months out of the year, we have a beautiful court that nobody can stand on," said Mary Davis of the Northwest Valley Family YMCA. "Come July, the concrete makes the decision for us."
Mayor Alexis Hermosillo credits the donation with advancing the City's FY2026-2028 Quality of Life strategic goals
El Mirage's strategic plan commits the city to strengthening community bonds and expanding recreational access through park upgrades. Once complete, the covered court will support outdoor group fitness classes, extend hours for the branch's full-day preschool program running 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and provide shaded space for several hundred people at community events including the branch's annual October Trunk or Treat.
"Being a good neighbor starts when the first shovel hits the ground and continues long after ribbon cutting," said AJ Byers, President of Compass Datacenters. "Our campuses are built to last a century, and so are our relationships with the communities around them."
The project marks an early step in what Compass describes as a decades-long presence in El Mirage tied to its ongoing campus development in the city.