What Do You Want at Regional Rec Center?

A new county-run rec center will have a 10,000-square-foot gym and 5,000 square feet of all purpose rooms.

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that construction will start on the $3.3 million rec center next year at the Larry Sanders Progress Village Sports Complex on 78th Street.

The design will take place over the next several months, with Hillsborough County getting input from the people who will use it. People should send comments to Steve Valdez in Citizen Services, at info@hillsboroughcounty.org.

Some neighborhood rec centers will now be managed by nonprofits because of declining funds and attendance, Mark Thornton, chief of the county's Parks and Rec Department, said in the article.

It also was noted that a new water fountain play area will soon be installed at Rotary’s All Persons’ Playground in Clayton Park in Brandon. Its development is being paid for with private funds.

The new center will draw users from Progress Village, Palm River, Clair-Mel City, Magnolia Park and Winston Park.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Thornton told the public that:

“We haven’t closed any centers and we’re not closing any parks,” Thornton told a small group gathered at the Progress Village Park. “But this will be the first time in seven or eight years that we’re planning a new full-service (regional) rec center.”