WENTZVILLE, Mo. — The City of Wentzville is celebrating Monday after the grand opening of a multi-million-dollar recreation center.
Mayor Nick Guccione said the new Wentzville Rec Center is more than 94,000 square feet and he hopes it is a place where everyone can come together.
“In a third-party study, 85% of residents said they wanted this,” Guccione said.
Guccione said it's something residents felt like their city was lacking.
“It's about the health, the welfare of our community and keeping people healthy. It’s about giving them activities in the winter, where the kids can come up. It's going to be a place to build memories, long-lasting memories for the kids and families where they can enjoy the amenities of the community,” Guccione said.
With two pools, a large gym and fitness center the Wentzville Parks and Recreation Director Mike Lueck said there’s something for all ages, even those who want to get creative.
“We have the e-sports lab, which is gaming and computer programming type classes. On the other side, we have an 'Innovation Zone', which is everything from robotics classes, to drawing classes, art classes, all that kind of stuff,” Lueck said.
The mayor said they had $42 million to build it and even came in under budget with room to grow.
“If you go out and look at an overhead view of this facility, you'll notice some spaces to the east and even to the west, where we have the ability to push out and add additional components in the future,” Lueck said.
Residents said they are really excited to have this as part of their community.
“We have a lot going on, we got a lot of parks in the area, and we have Progress and I thought Progress Park was a nice facility, but this here actually is much larger, and many more machines and facility-wise, much larger,” Wentzville resident Dennis McDowell said.
The new Wentzville Rec Center is located just off Wentzville Parkway and will be open to everyone starting Tuesday morning.
Residents and non-residents are able to buy passes and you can find more information here.
If there's something newsworthy happening where you live send us an email to tips@ksdk.com and our team of reporters will look into it.