Capital improvements to Saratoga Spa State Park will create a dazzling backdrop for fine art performances.Gov. Eliot Spitzer [1]'s proposed budget would bring several benefits to the Capital District, particularly to its neglected state parks.

According to the Times Union [2], 26 parks were added to the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation [3] during the Pataki administration even as the stewardship budget was flat-lined for 12 years. Spitzer's proposal would bring $3.55 million for infrastructure work at Albany County's John Boyd Thacher State Park in Albany County while nearby Thompson Lake State Park will get $250,000.

In Rensselaer County, Cherry Plain State Park will get $280,000, while the heavily used Grafton Lakes State Park will receive $800,000. In Saratoga County, Moreau State Park will get $1.9 million, and the flagship Saratoga Spa State Park, home of SPAC, will get $3.8 million for capital improvements.