Pierce County Council has approved a plan that asks Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg to move forward with design and develop a plan to finance a major overhaul of Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway. County officials say the popular, 32-year-old recreation center is in need of substantial renovation if it’s going to continue to serve thousands of visitors each year. Ladenburg has proposed a mildly controversial $28 million plan, which would provide extensive renovations and upgrades, jazz up the look of the facility, and pay for expansion of programs. An alternative plan would run a milder $20 million and simply bring the facility in line with building codes, and add a few features to expand recreation offerings. The plan favored by Ladenburg would cost $2.4 million per year to repay, leaving little money for developing other county parks and facilities.



Pierce County Parks and Recreation Services’ Manager Janel Krilich says Sprinker has been waiting for renovations for a decade now and plans to upgrade the facility have gathered dust as officials looked for ways to fund capital projects for Pierce County Parks. In 2001, a couple of tax revenue sources were diverted to help pay for capital projects, and that $56 million has been spent on other capital projects since then, but none on Sprinker. She concedes that the plan to renovate Sprinker could mean other projects, such as the proposed Bonney Lake-to-Buckley park, could be tabled to allow Sprinker to receive much-needed upgrades.



“There are a lot of projects and future projects that we’d like to have,” says Krilich. “But this is the top priority.”



According to County officials, Sprinker provided services for more than 300,000 people in 2007. The facility hosts a surprising range of activities, including ice skating, hockey, baseball, softball, football, basketball, rock climbing, skateboarding, various types of lessons, classes and special events, including an annual Northwest Cars and Trucks Show and the Reflections on Ice Show. The highly trafficked facility has aged well, but most features are outdated. Others, such as the facility’s rusted roof and water pipes beneath the facility’s floors, are in serious disrepair. The facility currently violates a number of local building codes and lacks basic accessibility features for disabled people who might want to participate in Sprinker activities.



PBK Architects Inc., the Parks and Recreation Services’ consultant for the renovation project, said the basic project would cover 90,071 square feet and include the facility’s ground floor including the ice rink, racquetball courts, tennis locker rooms and public viewing gallery. The latter would include the addition of 150 seats for spectators. The lobby entrance would be expanded for improved public skate sessions with larger special events. The refrigeration room, Zamboni room and storage areas also would be expanded.



New additions would include a multi-purpose meeting room, community room with kitchen, four dressing rooms for hockey programs and new second-floor restrooms.



The ice rink would be moved 5 feet and the corners changed for improved public viewing and safety. Removable flooring would be added under both plans, which would allow Sprinker to host non-ice-related events such as recreation classes, concerts, conferences, community events and exhibitions.



The more expensive plan would clean up the look of the place, renovate the lobby, elevator and the stairway, and add space that would be used to host new recreation programs. The plan also would remove racquetball courts and replace them with two floors of activity rooms.



Sprinker’s pro shop would move to the first-floor lobby and get an outside entrance. The resolution passed by Council allows officials to move forward with design while the County Executive and staff dig through funding options.