Great Falls is patiently waiting for the new recreation center that is being built at Lions Park at 2701 Tenth Avenue South. The official name is Aim High/Big Sky Indoor Aquatics & Recreation Center.
In September of 2020, the City of Great Falls was awarded a $10 million dollar grant from the Department of Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) to fund the new center.
The new facility will cost $20 million dollars and the city will match the $10 million dollar grant.
In September of 2021, the city of Great Falls, in partnership with Malmstrom Air Force Base, broke ground on the construction of the new facility (link). The project is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2024.
Jessica Compton, the Deputy Director of the Great Falls Park & Recreation Department, is looking forward to the completion of this project as it will be a great way for the community to come together.
“Our community is everyone who lives here; whether you're here because you're with the Air Force, whether you live here for 20 years, or whether you're here just for a year, it is a community space where anyone can come and use recreation, swim, sit in the sauna, anything to just [have] that community experience,” said Compton.
Planners says the location of the new facility is idea for the city of Great Falls because it allows for expansion in the future if there is demand for that.
Additionally, it is in close proximity to Malmstrom Air Force Base, allowing airmen to access it easily as well.
The purpose of the new facility is to replace the current recreation center on Second Avenue North.
The new facility will offer an area for everyone to come together to participate in events, take advantage of the amenities offered and be a part of something so community based.
“The footprint needed to be bigger,” Compton explained, “The demand is so high and there wasn't an opportunity to expand where the old rec center is.”
The old recreation center will turn into an extra property that the city will rent out to other organizations in the community.
For more information and for updates on the construction of the new recreation center, click here.
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