In July, 2017, the city of Prescott unveiled New Olympia Recreation Center, complete with volleyball courts, horseshoe and baggo games, sand boxes and more.
The new venue provides Prescott citizens with more entertainment options once the sun goes down other than supporting the Curley Wolves and Lady Wolves in their junior high and high school sporting competitions.
The idea for a new recreation center developed after a decision was made to close the Prescott city pool. Rising operation costs led to the pool closing, and the city was left with an unused plot of land where the pool had been filled in.
City council members mulled over the idea of what to replace the pool with, and decided they wanted to pursue something that was low cost and of interest for residents of all ages.
New Olympia Recreation was created with a day at the beach in mind. The property includes two beach volleyball courts, horseshoe and baggo games, picnic tables with umbrellas and barbecue grills.
There are also two sandboxes with toys to keep children entertained. Patio lights, tiki torches and wind chimes were added to keep with the beach theme.
Prescott
Population: 3,073
Mayor: Terry Oliver
County: Nevada
Region: Southwest
Did You Know?
Prescott is the largest city in Nevada County and it originated as a railroad town when Robert Burns persuaded railroad surveyors to plant a town on the line near Moscow. In August of 1873, four surveyors, including W. H. Prescott, laid out twenty-four blocks on each side of the rails, marking the beginning of Prescott.
City employees built New Olympia Recreation and Prescott did its best to keep costs low, coming in at well under $5,000 for total expenses. Oliver said an average of 40 people use the facility per night and the city’s largest crowd has been 75 citizens. The community has become engaged online, as well. Oliver said residents post on the New Olympia Recreation Facebook page announcing pick-up volleyball games, getting the community involved and maintaining interest in the new space.
“In the future we plan on adding to and changing up the venue as new ideas come to us,” Oliver said. “For now, the city employees do the repairs, pick up trash and mow the property. New Olympia Recreation has helped add excitement and community pride back to our citizens. We plan on hosting beach volleyball, horseshoe and baggo tournaments in the near future.”
The new recreation center has not only fueled resident’s pride in Prescott, but it has created a space where people of all ages can gather for friendly competition, birthday parties, family barbecues and more.
Prescott has proven that it doesn’t take a large budget or a state-of-the-art building to bring a community together — just a couple of volleyball courts and a good old-fashioned game of horseshoes.
Sign up for Daily E-news
