More than a year of waiting is about to pay off for Shawano residents as the newly renovated Shawano Recreation Center will open to the public Aug. 24.
The renovation project was funded by a $4.25 million Flexible Facilities Program grant from the state of Wisconsin and another $1 million from the city that came from savings in capital projects in 2025 and pushing back projects on the 2026 schedule. The center was originally built in the 1960s, but only minimal upgrades to the building have taken place.
The recently completed work will provide a new computer lab, classroom and study areas, along with a community room that would have stations for computers. This is being done to provide residents and visitors space to access the internet, a commodity that was found very lacking during the 2020 pandemic.
“The $4.25 million was allowed to provide, more or less, high-speed internet to rural Wisconsin,” said Matt Hendricks, parks and recreation director. “What it really came out of, from COVID, the amount of challenges that the local schools had and families and individuals. If you were lucky, in town you could get good internet, but people in the rural areas didn’t.”
Besides being an area for individuals to work, the facilities are also available for organizations to meet, especially if they require technology for any presentations.
“Maybe a few people from a local business want to come and have a meeting,” Hendricks said. “We really worked it out so the technology is as simple as possible. You can bring in your laptop, you can plug it into this (USB port) and boom. You can do Zoom conferences. You can do Powerpoints. You can get on the web and have shared media sources, that kind of stuff.”
There are smaller offices that people can use if they want to deal with people online in a more private setting.
Hendricks said the community room, located next to the pool, could also be used for birthday parties and celebrations.
Also part of the new and improved recreation center are extensive renovations of the exercise area and the locker rooms. The locker rooms, part of the 1950s era when people showered in one area, will be replaced by family-style changing rooms and single shower slots.
“Within the grant, they said these (internet amenities) are going into libraries and community centers, so we know that there are other features people want with that, so we were able to spend some of it on stuff that was not technology based,” Hendricks said.
The grant allowed the recreation center to make its exercise room bigger with brand new equipment.
“In the winter, it can be tough, so we want to make sure people stay active,” Hendricks said. “You can come and use the facility like you did in the past, and the part that we’re excited about is the additional space for social connection.”
The renovation also included rebuilding a racquetball court after original plans inadvertently cut them out. The previous recreation center had two racquetball courts.
“One of the things the city wanted to was we didn’t want to remove any services,” Hendricks said. “This was an elective add-on. What it came down to was we’re the only racquetball court between Wausau and Green Bay, and so knowing that, they said, ‘We need to make this happen.’”
The renovations expanded the recreation center by 9,000 square feet. Hendricks was pleased that the project allowed the physical footprint to increase without the necessity of increasing staff.
The city is hoping to expand the recreation center again down the line to include a large gym space, but that is expected to cost another $3.5 million, which is not covered under the grant. Officials are looking into ways to fund the second phase without using taxpayer dollars, but no funding has materialized yet, according to Hendricks.
The gymnasium would provide for one full-court basketball area, two youth basketball courts, a single volleyball court and four pickleball courts. There would also be additional racquetball areas and an aerobics studio.
The recreation center will open at 5:30 a.m. Aug. 24 for public use. Hours will be 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays.
An official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for Sept. 12, with details to be worked out.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
A new reception area allows more room for Shawano Recreation Center employees to work, as well as greet visitors. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
The $4.25 million grant the city of Shawano received through the Flexible Facilities program allowed the Shawano Recreation Center to include technology hubs such as this one in the renovated facility. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
An expanded exercise facility is part of what will greet community members when the Shawano Recreation Center reopens to the public Aug. 24. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
