BENTONVILLE -- The Arkansas Recreation and Parks Association recognized the Bentonville Community Center as the Recreation Facility of the Year during its annual conference Thursday.
Lee Farmer, recreation services manager, received the award in Texarkana on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Department.
Bentonville Community Center
The 83,000-square-foot center sits on 35 acres at 1101 SW Citizens Circle. It’s equipped with an aquatic center with a family leisure pool and a 25-yard competitive pool, a fitness center, dance and aerobics studio, gymnasium, indoor running track, community rooms, an arts and craft room, child watch area, senior activity center and lounge area.
The Public Library also has a mini branch at the center.
There are plans to build out Citizens Park, the grounds surrounding the center, with bike trails, an inclusive playground, pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater and tennis courts. The process has started with multipurpose fields on the south end.
Source: Staff report
"We're really excited about this," Farmer said. "It's a great award really for our citizens."
The association is a nonprofit organization based in Little Rock. It has more than 200 members, which work in municipal, state and federal government as well as nonprofit and private agencies, according to its website. The association is an advocate for the parks and recreation profession and provides a networking structure within the state.
The judging criteria for the Facility of the Year is mostly based on the "innovative nature" of the facility and why the facility was established, the interagency cooperation and the community needs it fulfills, according to the awards application. Other criteria includes how it expands interest in parks and recreation, the operating budget, number of participants and description of activities offered.
The 83,000-square-foot center opened at 1101 SW Citizens Circle on June 6, 2015. About a third of the $16.3 million project came from private money in the community.
The center saw more than 385,000 visitors in its first year. It offered more than 124 recreation programs, employed more than 100 people and produced more than $1.3 million in revenue, according to the nomination narrative. The facility's fee structure allows it to support itself independently of the city's operational budget.
Admission and membership fees vary depending on age, residence and type of membership. Fees for adult city residents include $5 for a day pass, $85 for 20 admission pass, $19 for a monthly pass and $200 for an annual pass, according to the department's website. Rates are less for youth and adults and slightly more for nonresident patrons. There also are monthly and yearly family memberships available.
The 7A-West Conference Swim Meet and the Arkansas Activities Association State Swimming and Diving Championship were held in the center's first year in its competitive pool.
The Community Center is accessible and affordable, Stephanie Hughey, a Bentonville resident, said as she and her 3-year old son left the center Friday morning.
Hughey said it was a challenge to find child care for her son while she worked out prior to the building opening. The classes she took were also more expensive, she said.
She's able to leave her son in the center's Child Watch while she participates in classes that are more affordable.
"It's a great setup," Hughey said. "It's a nice, clean, fun facility."
The award signifies how far the department has come over the last eight years, said David Wright, Parks and Recreation director.
Wright recalled the vision Mayor Bob McCaslin and the City Council cast to increase the quality of life amenities in the city around 2008. It was the same year the Adult Wellness Center in Rogers won the Facility of the Year award. The Parks Advisory Board president told Wright the Bentonville Parks and Recreation needed to be an award-winning department.
The Adult Wellness Center is a 55,000-square-foot facility in Rogers that provides activities and classes for people 50 years and older, according to its website. Some of its amenities include a pool, arts and crafts studio, gym, library and garden.
"I remember thinking, you're right. We have some work to do," Wright said, later adding, "I think (this award) shows how far this department has come because of the mayor, because of the council, because of the staff members that, here we are now, an award-winning department. And the benefactor of that is our city, not just today but for generations to come."
NW News on 09/19/2016