The City of Manhattan will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, March 25, to celebrate the opening of the new Douglass Activity Center.
The ceremony, which will happen about one year after construction began, will begin at 3:30 p.m. at 925 Yuma St. and feature a number of speakers.
Among the speakers who will be at the event are Manhattan Mayor Wynn Butler, city manager Ron Fehr, chair of the Douglass Center Advisory Board Deb Nuss and assistant director of Manhattan Parks and Recreation Wyatt Thompson.
Following the ceremony, visitors can tour the building, interview city officials and watch the Riley County Police Department take on the Manhattan Fire Department in a game of basketball.
Douglass Activity Center director David Baker, who will also speak at the ceremony, says Manhattan has needed more indoor-recreation space for quite a while.
“This is something that the community has needed for some time, especially in this part of town,” Baker said. “It’s going to be a big addition to our recreation department and this community.”
The 21,000-square-foot building will feature an elevated walking track, fitness equipment, a room for yoga and courts for basketball, volleyball and pickleball.
The elevated walking track will measure about one-thirteenth of a mile and include areas for resting.
“It’s going to be a nice place to be in the winter time or when the weather is bad and in the summer time when it’s too hot,” Baker said.
According to Baker, Manhattan Parks and Recreation was able to get the fitness equipment through public donations.
“I want to commend the community for making the donations that they made because we just didn’t have that kind of money to get the kind of things that we have there,” Baker said. “I think when people come and see what we have, they’ll be pleasantly surprised and it’s going to make people want to come and use this facility.”
Residents will be able to use the facility for free, with the fitness equipment being one of a few exceptions.
Fitness passes will be available to adults 18-years-old and older at $20 per month and seniors at $10 per month.
The facility will officially open to the public on Friday, March 26.
Facility hours are as follows:
- Monday – Thursday, 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- Friday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Closed Sunday
For more information on the Douglass Activity Center and how to get a fitness pass, visit mhkprd.com.
