Danville parks director urges technical planning after visits to regional rec centers

Tommy Burton, Danville director of Parks and Recreation, told the Danville City Commission on March 10 that a series of recent site visits to regional recreation centers sharpened staff recommendations for any new local facility and that staff will return with more narrowly defined technical scope and partnership options.

Burton said the delegation visited about 11 recreation centers in the region — including Morristown Landing (Tenn.), Georgetown, Bowling Green and Madisonville — to study facility design, staffing models, membership mixes and revenue strategies.

The presentation matters because the commission is weighing whether to invest in a larger multiuse recreation center and/or upgrades to local pools and gyms. Burton said design choices such as open, single-level layouts, multipurpose rooms and retractable pool roofs materially affect operating costs, staffing needs and the revenue the facility can generate.

Burton summarized what staff learned from the visits: older “cinder-block” centers tend to be configured like school gyms with limited multipurpose or rental space and lower event capacity; newer facilities are built with multiple full-size courts, concession kitchens and flexible rooms intended to host travel tournaments and corporate rentals. He pointed to Morristown Landing as a model of expansion-minded programming, saying the project was city-funded and cost about $35,000,000 and reported roughly 8,000 members.

Staff reported other specific lessons from the visits: many newer facilities staff more people on a shift (Georgetown had “over 10” on some shifts; Versailles ran 5–6); most modern builds include at least four courts to host large tournaments; indoor pools with play features attract substantially higher attendance than simple lap pools; and retractable-roof pool systems can replace the need for separate indoor and outdoor pools if circulation and heating design are correct.

Burton also described local operations: Danville’s Bunny Davis pool is undergoing leak repairs, maintenance is preparing for the travel-season tournament schedule, and the existing program footprint at Jeanne Rogers Park is drawing strong daily usage. He said current local membership at Bunny Davis runs roughly 120–150 and staff think a well-designed aquatic facility could sustain substantially more members over time — Burton said staff estimate a properly built pool might support “1,500 to 2,000 members” in the right market and with appropriate programming.

Commissioners asked about tradeoffs between fitness centers and aquatics. Burton and staff counselled that Danville is unlikely to replicate the fitness-driven membership levels observed in larger markets, and they recommended designing a facility that focuses on community programming and rentable multipurpose rooms while allowing room for travel tournaments to generate revenue.

Next steps approved by the commission: staff will work with the city architect to develop a more detailed scope and capacity analysis; Parks staff (Tommy and Josh) will return with defined programming options and a proposed budget framework; and commissioners were encouraged to visit recommended regional facilities (Morristown Landing and Georgetown were singled out) before the commission reviews a capital plan. Burton said the technical work will include capacity modeling, staffing projections, and identification of potential partners for operations or sponsorships.

"If you build it, they will come," Burton said, summarizing the observed impact of some newer facilities on local commerce and tourism, but he cautioned the commission that programming, partnerships and front-end design decisions determine whether a new center will be financially sustainable.

The commission did not take a funding vote on a facility at the March 10 meeting; staff framed the session as a project planning phase and requested authorization to proceed with the architect and the recommended site visits for commissioners.