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A new Provo Recreation Center may be on the horizon, pending the results of a feasibility study being conducted by a Salt Lake architectural firm.
Provo city has contracted with VCBO Architecture to gauge interest in a new facility to supplement or replace the one built on University Avenue in the '70s. Questionnaires asking about amenities, cost and location have been mailed to about 2,000 households and will be rounded up before a public hearing next Thursday. The city already conducted a study in 2000 that showed interest in a new facility, but the time delay imposed by a slowing economy since then has prompted a second look, said Scott Henderson, assistant director of Parks and Recreation.
"If there was a fairly good level of strong support in the year 2000, since nothing's been done to temper that need, I'm assuming that we'll see the same or even more support now," he said. "The facility has not become less outdated."
Henderson said some people have been looking around at newer recreation centers in neighboring cities and asking what can be done to improve Provo's offerings. When the existing facility was built, Henderson said, "it was basically 14 racquetball courts and a swimming pool."
"A lot of people think it's time for us to be able to run some more current trends and formatting," he said.
It's tough to say what amenities a new complex would host before questionnaires come back, but informal reports say more gym space and aquatic activities would be popular, Henderson said.
"Family fitness has become a major trend in recreation," he said. "Right now, Parks and Recreation does not have a gym in its system. We're completely dependent on the availability of school district gyms."
Likewise, there's little to say about where the center would go or how much it would cost until VCBO's work is done, Henderson said. The group will be looking at identifying potential sites -- including the existing center -- and working up a cost based on size and amenities.
The outcome of the study could affect more than just the current recreation center. Other city facilities also are being factored into considerations, said VCBO principal architect Brent Tippets.
"We have inventoried the existing facilities that include the recreation center and pool, the Eldred Senior Center and also The Center," he said. "We did find a lot of inadequacies as far as access, functionality, certainly energy consumption and safety."
But the city is far from making any determination that would impact existing facilities, Henderson said. He said the first step is to collect all the feasibility and cost data, which he said he hopes will be available by October. From there, it's up to the city to determine how to proceed.
Tippets said once the study is completed, VCBO will make a bid to build a new facility if the city wants one. The firm has worked on several prominent Provo structures, including the new Covey Center for the Arts.
The public hearing will be at 7 p.m. on July 17 at the Eldred Senior Center.
• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or
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