Concerns are surfacing regarding how the current racquetball courts at the Shawano Recreation Center will be renovated for other uses in the first phase, but new ones are expected to go into the second phase when a larger gymnasium facility is built and connected to the center.
The city of Shawano expects to break ground on its first phase of work in June or July, once bids are voted on by the Shawano Common Council in April. It will not be clear how long the first phase will take until a contractor to do the work is decided.
In 2024, there were a total of 413 reservations for the existing two racquetball courts, 323 specifically for racquetball and 95 for other uses, like Easter egg hunts or summer programs that need to move inside when the weather turns bad.
Matt Hendricks, park and recreation director, told the council Feb. 12 that there has been a lot of support for creating recreational areas and activities, including the splash pad at Memorial Park, new playground equipment at several city parks and the Naberhood Plaza, which is a hub of activity at least twice per week during the summer months. He noted that a survey about the recreation center in 2024, which garnered 1,350 responses, had a question that revealed 92% of respondents think the community would benefit from having additional court space.
Hendricks said it has asked MSA Professional Services, the company based in Baraboo overseeing the state grant-funded project, to ask for alternative bids that would include adding back one racquetball court to the first phase of the project. If it fits within the $4.25 million the grant provides, it could happen, he said.
“We’re going to be able to tell you, here is the base bid, and if you want that racquetball court, here is what it costs and maybe here are some ways to fund it,” Hendricks said. “You’ll have a decision to make then.”
Mayor Bruce Milavitz expressed concern about not keeping racquetball courts in the existing recreation center first phase.
“One of the things I’m concerned about is we’re talking a new rec center, an improved center, but yet we’re taking away what we currently offer,” Milavitz said. “That could be a real negative moving forward, especially something that can be done 12 months out of the year.”
Hendricks noted that Shawano has the only indoor racquetball courts between Wausau and Green Bay.
“It’s not a service being provided by somebody else in the community,” he said.
Alderman Jack Young said he’d been unaware until recently about how much usage the racquetball courts received at the center.
The proposed gymnasium is currently estimated at $3.5 million, but the city is looking at ways other than taxpayer dollars to foot the bill, and it’s unclear how long it could take the city to find grants and other funding sources.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
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