The St. Charles Park District celebrated the opening of Haines Gymnasium with Community Unit School District 303 representatives and Fusion Volleyball on Tuesday, March 10.
Park Board President Brian Charles stated, “While tonight is a celebration of this newly-renovated facility, it is also a commemoration of the Park District’s partnership with Community Unit School District 303. We are grateful to have such a positive intergovernmental relationship that benefits our community.”
In October 2019, the Park District entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement with CUSD303 to manage Haines Gymnasium and adjacent classroom space in the former middle school, while the school district retains ownership of the physical building and property. Both agencies have the option to renew this agreement in four years.
“Staff are very excited for this indoor space opportunity to expand the District’s recreational services of pickleball, volleyball, basketball, youth camps, teen programing and special events as well as facility rentals,” said Mike Kies, Superintendent of Recreation.
Recent remodeling projects included installing ADA restrooms, gym floor re-surfacing, reconfiguration of the volleyball courts, the addition of four pickleball courts, as well as branding the facility with a new logo and signage.
The Park District offers drop in open gym pickleball on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings. The drop in fee is only $3 per person. An indoor winter walking program through the end of March is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. This program is free to Park District residents.
In the afternoon and evenings, Park District staff will oversee gym rentals and offer additional recreation programs.
Behind-the-scenes infrastructure projects included painting 75% of the facility, adding IT infrastructure, gymnasium lighting and floor tiling. D303 also installed fire sprinkler systems to this renovated area.
While the majority of the renovations are completed, improvements will continue to be made to the stage, classrooms, parking lot and landscaping through the spring and summer months.
The park district will begin using the classrooms in the near future. “These rooms will be dedicated as multi-purpose rooms so the District can expand its program opportunities with additional indoor space,” said Facility Supervisor Sabrina Killeen.
The building is shared with the D303’s transition program, and the St. Charles Public Library will call this facility home while their building undergoes construction.
Located at 305 South Ninth Street in St. Charles, the Haines Gymnasium is open seven days a week depending on the rental and programming schedule. For more information, visit its web site at https://www.stcparks.org/haines/