Centennial picked as alternative site for rec center

JohnD Winters Centennial Park was chosen as an alternative site for a new recreation center in Carson City.

Parks and Recreation commissioners on Tuesday picked the northeastern site known mostly for its softball, tennis and golf accommodations. Along with its sports areas, commissioners highlighted the park's proximity to Highway 50, the Virginia & Truckee Railway tourist route and the planned Chinese Workers Museum and Destination Nevada development. Centennial also offers available space for future parks and recreation facilities.

This choice is separate from an earlier decision by city officials to pursue a joint-use agreement with Western Nevada Community College for a center on the campus. It only will happen if the college can hold up its end of the bargain.

Centennial has 27 acres; only seven of which are used now. The building would be located northwest of the lower softball fields.

"I wouldn't mind it being here," said resident Pedro Segura, who was watching his two daughters, Jesalea, 9, and Shaylin, 7, play tennis on Wednesday morning at the park. His son, Casanova, 3, was busying himself near his father. The park is within a mile of their home.

"It's hard to find good activities for kids. The more activities for the kids, the better," he said.

Segura said he hopes the tennis courts won't be shut down or moved if the center ends up at Centennial, because he and his family spend a lot of time there. It's his daughters' favorite sport, he said.

The Segura family goes to the Carson City Community Center for karate and the Aquatic Center for swimming, and sees plays in the auditorium. As a father, he said, he would welcome an opportunity to drive a shorter distance so his children could enjoy similar opportunities.

"It would be nice to have some place like that on this side of town," he said.

Whether the WNCC joint-use plan works out depends on the priorities of the Nevada Board of Regents and the Legislature. The regents will put together a statewide spending plan in mid-June. Whether it garners enough support from these officials is still an unanswered question, said Helaine Jesse, WNCC's vice president of institutional advancement.

Legislators will focus on the college system's budget in mid-2007, she said.

Other sites seriously considered for the new center included Mills Park, Edmonds Sports Complex, property at Arrowhead Drive and Goni Road and WNCC without the joint-use agreement.

The city plans to spend $8 million to $10 million on a new recreation center. If the joint-use plan works out, the college would provide matching funds for a much larger project that would include classrooms.

The city has planned for a new center to include a 10,600-square-foot multipurpose gymnasium, indoor walking track, leisure pool and splash pads.

Mills Park would have cost up to $13 million because of necessary drainage work and a need to create more parking, 100 to 200 more spaces to accommodate a center this size. Cutting into Mills Park itself to accommodate this type of facility might pose logistical problems for the many large events held there in the future, said Roger Moellendorf, parks and recreation director.

The Edmonds Sports Complex also received support from commissioners because of its family-oriented offerings. Access and relocation of the BMX track were cited as concerns, however.

Final approval of the alternative site could be before the Board of Supervisors this summer.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.