BILLINGS — If built, a proposed $112 million new rec center on Billings South Side would boast the largest indoor pool in the state.
And that has proponents excited about the possible future, though they know much work remains.
“This is a small step towards eventually, hopefully, getting a recreational center built in Billings in the South Billings Urban Renewal District. Essentially what City Council said Monday night, was when, and if, we have the money to build something like this, this is the type of facility that we would want to build,” said Jack Jennaway, the business advocacy coordinator for the Billings Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. “The City Council has said, if we’re going to do this, we want to go big. We want to do it right. And that’s what this concept design does."
On Feb. 13, the Billings City Council voted 8-1 to approve design concepts for the proposed new rec center. The design concepts were created by A&E Design in Billings and includes two sheets of ice, the large pool, basketball courts and other amenities.
“There’s going to be an indoor 50-meter pool, recreational swim area with a waterslide and everything, huge basketball court area, and two sheets of ice for hockey and skating," Jennaway said. “One of the things that I thought was really interesting, was what they call a 'Clip and Climb' wall. So a little bit of an indoor rock-climbing wall. And the main thing with that is like, say that you come in for a basketball tournament. The older brother is playing in the tournament, or the hockey tournament, swim tournament, whatever. And a younger sibling needs something to do in the meantime, in between matches or something like that."
And Jennaway said the pool will be a big win for the aquatic community.
"I think aquatics was a really high priority. And if this is built, this will be the only indoor 50-meter pool in the state," Jennaway said. "So that will be absolutely huge for our aquatics community to be able to host swim meets and all that kind of stuff. To be able to practice, in a competition-sized pool. It’ll be a huge amenity for our community."
And other residents agree the center would be a win for the community.
“I absolutely see a need for a rec center in Billings,” said Justin Hutchinson, a radio DJ in Billings, on Wednesday.
Hutchinson said Billings should follow through with this project before other Montana cities.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before other cities do something like this,” Hutchinson said. "It'd be nice to get a head start on them, be able to bring in a lot of those competitions and tournaments."
Jennaway said Billings residents were asked to participate in a recreation survey to help determine what the community wanted to see in the center. Aquatics was one of the most-requested items, but an area for sports tournaments and competitions was also largely sought.
“There’s been a tremendous outpouring of support from the community. And in particular, parents with kids who are involved in swimming or skating or hockey or anything along those lines," Jennaway said. "They travel such a long distance to go to competitions. It’s really impressive the amount of dedication that these families have to these sports. The fact that we are going all the way to Missoula and to other states just to go to competitions, I think shows what a need there is in this community.”
According to Jennaway, being able to host tournaments would bring in a lot more money to Billings.
“This is going to bring a lot of people into the community for those basketball and swimming and hockey tournaments. And that supports local jobs. That’s going to fill our hotels, our restaurants, our retail stores,” Jennaway said. “I just took a tour at Scheels the other day and they told me that they know when tournaments are coming into town for whatever it may be. And they actually have extra staffing for those days because they see that many more people coming into their doors. And so I’m sure that that will increase the number of people that they hire if this ends up getting built."
But it won't be cheap. The South Billings Urban Renewal District is putting $30 million towards the project, but the remainder of the tab — about $82 million— will fall on taxpayers.
"The next step is finding the funding for this. So that’s going to involve a bond, most likely during the upcoming City Council races this fall. So you will most likely see two questions on your ballot, in addition to your City Council representative. You’ll see a mill levy to replace Park District 1, which the state Legislature has said we need to re-authorize or replace by 2024. (This levy would continue to fund maintenance and operations of parks citywide.) And then you will most likely see a bond to fund the rec center and probably a couple of other parks. But we will hopefully be taking a vote on this project this coming fall," Jennaway said.
Proponents acknowledge cost is the largest obstacle for the project.
“The hardest obstacle is going to be the money," Hutchinson said. "I think a lot of people feel really taxed out at this point.”
But many residents, like Hutchinson, believe it's worth it.
"It just gets more people in Billings to spend their money here," Hutchinson said. "That's the biggest thing to me, is bring us your dollars. Come spend money in Billings."
To learn more about the project, click here.
“If we don't do it, another city in Montana will," Hutchinson said. "I’m kind of tired of Bozeman always getting something, Missoula always getting something. It’s always somewhere else. And I think it’s our turn."
