Upper Arlington sets March opening, previews programming and memberships for Bob Crane Community Center

Upper Arlington city staff announced timelines and programming details this week for the new Bob Crane Community Center, saying memberships will go on sale March 10, tours will be offered March 25–29, preview days will run April 1–3 and the facility’s formal grand opening is scheduled for a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. April 6 with full operations beginning April 7.

The community center will accept online and in-person membership purchases starting March 10; staff said front-desk sales also will be available at the municipal services center March 10–14. Parks and Recreation personnel will relocate to the community center beginning March 17 to begin operations and staffing. On-site tours will run March 25–29; preview days for targeted groups (older adults, families, middle- and high-school students, adults/corporate groups) are set April 1–3. The grand opening celebration is April 6, and regular hours start at 5:30 a.m. April 7, with the center open 5:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday–Friday and 8 a.m.–8 p.m. on weekends.

The center’s opening will be phased to let staff train and to allow residents to preview the facility before membership is required. “During these times, people can utilize the facilities. They can walk the building on their own. There’ll be staff available on each floor to help,” said TJ Putnam, Community Center Manager. Putnam and other staff emphasized the preview days double as live training for front-desk and operational staff so the first full week of public operations runs smoothly.

Matt Lever, Recreation Superintendent, said registration for spring and summer programs opens March 12 for residents and community-center members and March 14 for nonresidents. New and expanded offerings include year-round learn-to-swim classes beginning in June, evening and weekend aquatic programs (Aqua Sculpt, Aqua Zumba, Aqua Yoga), expanded fitness classes, five personal trainers, arts programming, a large slate of youth dance and performing arts classes, and extensive pickleball programming. Lever said the department has added a fourth summer day camp site for 2025, increasing capacity by about 100 to a total of 390 camp participants; 20 people remained on the wait list at the time of the presentation.

Northam Park’s new tennis and pickleball courts will have a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. May 1. Staff described six north-end pickleball courts with reservation slots available in one-hour increments from April through October. “You don’t have to have a reservation to play,” Lever said; reservations are intended to help players lock in a time and improve equitable access.

Council members asked about parking and traffic control during the high-demand preview and opening period. Putnam said the city planned a police presence for marquee events and early weeks of operation, temporary wayfinding and public parking signage, and staff parking allocations to free surface spaces; staff said they would use shuttles from nearby lots on high-demand days if needed.

Membership forecasts presented to council included two scenarios: a more conservative target in the mid-3,000s and an upper-range potential near 6,000 members. Staff said those projections may not fully account for participation from Medicare fitness programs such as SilverSneakers and Renew Active; the city recently confirmed that members with those programs will be eligible for community-center membership through their insurance programs where applicable.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) described its role as a sounding board to staff on design, access and fees. Lindsay Crist, a long-serving PRAB member, said PRAB helped shape the Play UA financial-assistance program and pressed staff to broaden community input on the athletic turf management plan. “When we put our stamp of approval on something … it usually means that it’s unanimous amongst the board, and we’ve talked about it a lot,” Crist said.

Staff said tours already have attracted high interest; members of council reported hundreds of registrations for scheduled tours and asked that staff continue a broad communications push. The department said it plans earned-media outreach, photography and videography, and virtual walkthrough assets to promote the center beyond Upper Arlington’s typical channels.

Nut graf: The city’s Parks and Recreation staff and appointed advisory board presented a coordinated launch plan for the new Bob Crane Community Center — including membership sales, staggered previews and a mix of longstanding and new programs — and outlined operational, traffic and communication steps designed to manage strong early demand while training staff.

Council members welcomed the timeline and asked staff to track capacity, registration demand and operations closely after opening. Staff said they will evaluate program popularity seasonally and annually and add offerings where demand merits. The department plans to credit early registrants who purchase memberships after signing up for programs at the nonmember rate in the first month.

Ending: The presentation closed with council and staff saying the community center represents a major new amenity for Upper Arlington and with staff urging residents to watch the city’s Parks and Recreation pages for upcoming registration and tour links.