Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Council members take tour of facility
Recreation center in need of repairs
SPRINGDALE — “It’s a diamond in the rough,” said Bill Mock, director of Springdale’s Parks and Recreation Department. He led members of the City Council on a tour of the city’s new recreation center Monday afternoon.
The city recently bought the former All-Star Sports Arena at 1906 Cambridge St. to be used as the city’s recreation center. The purchase price was $4.1 million for the facility owned by the Arkansas Warehouse Group.
The facility, however, needs more than a few updates by a new owner.
Council members stood on one of the indoor soccer fields. The turf shows rips and raised seams. And the gravel sub-floor feels like concrete.
An informal estimate for replacing the turf alone was $170,000, Mock said.
“But they still play hard on it.”
Replacing the recreation center’s heating and air conditioning might take first priority, Mayor Doug Sprouse said. On one cold morning, the staff recorded 48 degrees inside the building. But they have fixed some units to provide heat.
The first estimate for heating and air conditioning came in at $750,000, Mock said.
Colby Fulfer, a council member, said he’d like to see that fixed by the end of the year, or at least before next winter.
“But it will put a lot of pressure and stress on our CIP fund,” he said.
Sales tax receipts fund most of the city’s capital improvement projects, Sprouse said. And those receipts have been on the rise over the past year.
The city purchased the center with $2 million it received for the sale of the former recreation center on Ash Street in Murphy Park
to the Springdale Public School district. The city spent another $2.2 million from the park bond fund passed by residents in February 2018.
Sprouse said he hesitates to spend any more money out of the park bond because the city plans to build a new park and update others.
“I don’t want to snow anybody, but it’s going to be a long time before it’s like the city and its residents want it to be,” Sprouse said.
Sprouse said the city realized when purchasing the building that it was not optimal, but it was functional. The city moved in and opened the building to residents three weeks ago.
“This building’s been busy for years, even with it’s problems,” he added.
The city outgrew its former youth center years ago, Sprouse said. It was built in the 1960s and expanded in the 1990s. “But we’re two times the city we were then.”
A group of residents who regularly used the city’s old recreation center, and now use the new one, shared their wants for the new center with Sprouse before the tour.
“We need a track,” said Robert Zielger. “I’m 91, and I don’t play tennis or basketball.”
Sprouse said the center’s original track upstairs must come down because it’s not structurally safe. And the building offers no elevator to access it.
While on the tour, city officials considered several op- tions for the walking group. Creating some sort of track might become a priority, Sprouse said.
“We can do a lot of little things, in house,” Mock add- ed.
“Every resident has a stake in contributing to this building,” Sprouse said. “We can’t accommodate everything, but we will be able to accommodate a lot more things — especially when we’ve been open for more than three weeks.
“Everywhere you look, you can see potential,” said Mike Lawson, a council member. “Every time I walk through here, I see something new.”
Mock reported the city has booked 10 basketball tournaments in the recreation center, without advertising it’s availability.
The center hosted a volleyball tournament last weekend, bringing in $2,500 for the tournament and an estimated $6,400 at the concession stand, he added.
“That just shows you the potential that is there,” Lawson said.
After touring the building, Kathy Jaycox, a council member, asked Mock to tell her what’s good about the building.
He noted the city’s recreation center evolved from two basketball courts to six and no indoor soccer fields to two.
“The vision’s good,” Mock said. “And we’ve got people who are happy to come in to play.”
“I don’t want to snow anybody, but it’s going to be a long time before it’s like the city and its residents want it to be.”
— Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse