Wood River NEW
recreation center
Photo courtesy of AAIC, Inc.
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Wood River Rec Center gears up for Feb. 17 grand opening New $11 million facility will offer various membership levels BY SCOTT MARION HEARST ILLINOIS
clinic with players proving instruction in the sport.
In addition, there will be group fitness demonstrations and instructors, WOOD RIVER – If you’ve including yoga, cardio and been looking forward to checking out the new Wood strength training. If visitors are interested in signing River Recreation Center, up for classes, there will be your wait is almost over. an opportunity to fill out a contact sheet, and the rec The grand opening for the new facility at 655 N. Wood center staff will reach out River Ave. will be on Satur- the following week with day, Feb. 17, starting with a registration information. ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. followed by refresh- “I think we’ll have hundreds of people here. In ments in the lobby. addition to the gym, people will also have access to From noon to 4 p.m., the recreation center will have our gymnastics center an open house for the pub- and there will be bounce lic, with access to the gym- houses, and our concession stand will be open as nasium to play basketball, well,” Wood River Assispickleball and volleyball. tant Parks and Recreation There will be a pickleball
Director and Recreation Center Manager Pat Minogue said. “We won’t necessarily be taking memberships that day, but we’ll have forms that people can fill out. We’ll reach back out to them and get them signed up.” For Minogue and Wood River Parks and Recreation Director Jason Woody, the grand opening is the culmination of more than a year’s work of preparing the rec center to open to the public. Groundbreaking for the $11 million, 32,000-square-foot facility started in September of 2022, with construction of the building starting in January of 2023.
Minogue expects the six pickleball courts to be one of the most popular features of the facility. Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation and there are few indoor courts in the Metro East. “The Riverbend Pickleball Association and the OMG (One More Game) Pickleball Club out of Edwardsville have seen the place and they think this will be the premier spot in the area,” Minogue said. “A lot of people have told us they would prefer to play indoors, and we expect that to be a big part of what we’re selling with memberships.”
Another selling point for the center is that few recreational facilities in the Metro East will offer as many activities as possible under one roof. “We’ve had people come in from Edwardsville and Alton who had no idea this was here,” Minogue said. “We’ve had some basketball organizations who say this will change the game for them. They always go to St. Louis for tournaments, and they’ll have the opportunity to potentially host tournaments here. “We talked to an organization who has 30 teams in the facility they’re using now, and they’re maxed out and were getting ready to turn people away. Instead,
if they practice here and host tournaments here, they might be able to double in size.” The rec center’s location across the parking lot from East Alton-Wood River High School also makes a natural fit for EA-WR athletic activities. “They want to use our gym for tournaments and on rainy days, their baseball and softball teams can have batting practice here,” Minogue said. “Their indoor track team can also use our track upstairs. We think it will be a good partnership.” Membership rates for the center, which were approved by the Wood River City Council on Feb.
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5, include three different monthly levels. Adult Wood River residents will pay $20, with a $25 rate for in-district residents (East Alton-Wood River School District and Roxana School District) and $30 for non-residents. Senior rates (age 60 and older) are $15, $20 and $25, respectively, as are youth rates (ages 4-17). There will also be family memberships (2-5 members; additional $5/member after 5). Those rates will be $35, $40 and $45. Day passes and yearly rates are also available. “We feel those rates are lower than any rec center and certainly cheaper than any private rec centers or anything like that,” Minogue said. “If you’re 65 or older and you have Medicare, you probably have Silver Sneaker, Renew Active or Silver & Fit benefits, your membership will be free.” The main gymnasium, which includes the pickleball courts, is lined for two full-size basketball courts and two volleyball courts. “We also have two dropdown batting cages and eight basketball hoops that can be lowered to eight feet for kids’ games,” Minogue said. “Above that, there is a walking track that is 1/13th of a mile.”
Upstairs, there are also three multipurpose rooms that will be available for rental, including one large room that can be divided into two separate rooms for different events. “We’ll do group fitness out of that room,” Minogue said. “We’re also looking at doing an after-school program there and a Monday through Friday summer camp as well. “The multipurpose rooms can be rented for things like birthday parties and baby showers. I also expect it will be a gathering spot for the morning crowd that will be using the walking track or playing pickleball.” Adjacent to the gym there is a gymnastics room with tumbling equipment and a large trampoline. “We have an in-house gymnastics program with rates as cheap as they come around here and we’ve got about 200 kids signed up,” Minogue said. “We typically take the summer off, but it’s offered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. “The ages range from 2 years old to about 12 years old, with skill levels from beginner to advanced. Our instructor, Lindsey Herron, does a great job, and she’s also the director of the
Wood River Public Library. The gymnastics program is growing so fast that we’ve had to turn people away.” There is also a multipurpose room that will eventually be used for cardio equipment such as treadmills and elliptical machines, with TVs on the wall. The facility also includes men’s and women’s locker rooms, each with three showers. There are three sets of restrooms on the lower level and two more restrooms on the upper level. The rec center will also feature a concession area with a full kitchen. “We can serve inside and outside if we ever utilize our outdoor space for sand volleyball or something else,” Minogue said. The recreation center will be closed Sunday, Feb. 18, and Monday, Feb. 19 (President’s Day), but will be fully operational for its regular business hours starting Tuesday, Feb. 20. For more information about the rec center and the grand opening, visit https://wrparks.org/, call 618-251-3130 or go to Wood River Parks & Recreation on Facebook or email office.wrparks@gmail.com.
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New Rec Center provides jobs, sponsorship opportunities BY SCOTT MARION HEARST ILLINOIS
WOOD RIVER – The impact of the new Wood River Recreation Center will go beyond basketball, pickleball, volleyball, gymnastics and all the other activities that will take place there. The two-story facility at 655 N. Wood River will open to the public on Saturday, Feb. 17, with a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. and an open house with a variety of events from noon to 4 p.m. The building will
be closed on Sunday, Feb. 18 and Monday, Feb. 19 (Presidents Day) and will be fully operational on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The 32,000-square-foot facility will also create jobs in the Wood River area, as approximately 20 people are being hired to fill various part-time positions.
“We’ve got some kids who are in high school, and we also have some retirees, so it’s a wide spectrum of people who will be working for us. We’re also still looking for additional group fitness instructors.”
The entrance will serve as a check-in for center members, Minogue added that the rec center will be the “That includes front desk new hub for the Parks and workers, part-time building Recreation Department, managers and custodial which is currently located staff,” said Pat Minogue, at 633 N. Wood River Ave. Wood River Assistant Parks and Recreation The building will include Director and Recreation new offices for Minogue, Center Manager. Parks and Recreation Director Jason Woody, the
Park Maintenance Department and Recreation Programmer Dickson Wong, plus a conference room and an employee break room. “If you want to rent a pavilion in one of our parks or rent a ballfield or sign up for baseball, this will be where you can do it,” Minogue said. “Previously we’ve only taken cash or checks and we’ve hand-written receipts, which is an old-school way of doing things. “We will have a brand-new recreation software called Active Network. For people who use this place, we’ll
create a profile for them, or they can create it themselves at home. They’ll register through that, and we’ll be able to take credit cards and we can put people on payment plans. It will allow us to contact them a lot easier because we’ll have all their information logged in the system.” Local businesses will also have a chance to make their mark on the new rec center through sponsorships. “This building is kind of a blank canvas, and we have a ton of opportunities for sponsorships.” Minogue
said. “There’s a walking track and we’re looking at highlighting businesses with banners or signage there. “There is also the opportunity to have your name on the gymnasium or the gymnastics center, or even on a water fountain or the concession stand.” For more information about the rec center and the grand opening, visit https://wrparks.org/, call 618-251-3130 or go to Wood River Parks & Recreation on Facebook or email office.wrparks@gmail.com.
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