Despite community pushback against fees to access Lawrence’s recreation centers, the city has already reached three quarters of the goal of 3,000 membership signups for the first year.
The city never charged Lawrence and Douglas County residents to enter recreation centers, but that changed effective last week as part of plans to eliminate a multimillion-dollar city budget deficit.
People ages 18 and up now have to pay to access Sports Pavilion Lawrence and the East Lawrence and Holcom Park recreation centers. Kids younger than 18 will still be admitted to the rec centers for free.
Lindsay Hart, interim director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, told members of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday that as of that afternoon, the department had received more than 2,250 signups — 75% of the department’s goal for the year.
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Hart was especially surprised that almost 1,000 senior residents have signed up — well more than the city’s goal of 260 for the year.
Hart said she believed that as of last week, the city had received more than 150 applications for residents who have already qualified for certain state or federal benefits seeking free memberships. Learn how to apply as a qualified resident at this link.
The city is also now charging $5 fees for each spectator to enter athletic tournaments. Hart said the city made more than $16,000 the first weekend, and more than $13,000 over the second weekend. There will be volleyball tournaments every weekend through the end of March, she said.
Under the fee structure, the city is charging adult residents of Lawrence $12 per month or $120 per year to access SPL and the other two rec centers. There are also rates for households, seniors and Douglas County residents. Read more details about the fees in this article.
The Holcom and East Lawrence rec centers have seen decreased visits, Hart said, down about 100 visits and 75 visits compared to last year, respectively.
Sports Pavilion Lawrence, however, was up more than 550 visits compared to last year, Hart said.
The Community Building at 115 W. 11th St., which will be free to enter for the first three months of this year on a trial basis, also saw increased visits over the past week, she said — about 150 more visits than this time last year. Rec center staff members were not tracking entries as diligently as they are now, though, she said.
City staff members will report the numbers to the Lawrence City Commission each month, Hart said.
The website to sign up for a paid membership is at this link. To apply for a free membership as a qualified resident, fill out the online form at this link (users should log in on this page first).
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Nathan Kramer (he/him), a multimedia student journalist for The Lawrence Times since August 2024, is a senior at Free State High School. He is also a news photo editor for Free State’s student publication, where he works as a videographer, photographer and motion designer. See more of his work for the Times here.
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence TimesLawrence rec center memberships already nearing goals; spectator fees raise nearly $30K
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