New Gig Harbor rec center with indoor playground, turf fields could be open by 2020

The Peninsula Metropolitan Park District has entered into a purchase-and-sale agreement for the current Performance Golf Center property with the goal of turning the location into a community recreation facility.

The new facility would have 190,000 square feet of recreation space, including a soccer field, flag football field, pickle ball and tennis courts, a walking track and an indoor playground.

“We don’t think our district needs this — we know it needs this,” said Richard Fink, executive director of PenMet Parks. “We’ve gone out and done a lot of community service work and have done a number of outreach and engagement sessions. All the data we have compiled, 85 percent of the people in our district have indicated they want indoor recreation.”

PenMet Parks officials said voter approval of a levy lid lift in 2017 has given the district the money to purchase Performance Golf property for about $4.3 million. Fink said the construction cost are estimated to be around $15 million.

The property is at 2416 14th Ave. NW in Gig Harbor.

Although the golf facility is being torn down, Fink said the parks district wants to keep some elements of golf alive at the new recreation center.

“There is a mini golf course which will be retained,” Fink said. “Also in the recreation structure, we want to continue some elements of the golf tradition. We recognize people come here to play golf and that is what the site is known for. Whether that be indoor golf clinics or virtual simulations where you are playing 18-hole courses inside a netted virtual environment, we want to continue the golf tradition.”

The existing building is expected to be remodeled over the summer and open by fall with classrooms and programs for the public.

Fink said the recreation facility will be constructed and hopefully available to the public by spring 2020.

“We are doing this fairly fast,” Fink said. “What excites us the most about this is the space lends itself to so much more programming and opportunity. Historically we have lacked space to do a lot of what we want to do.”

The indoor playground is particularly exciting, he said.

“Knowing the limited opportunities in the wintertime, to have an indoor space kids can go will be such a relief for a lot of parents and will be something the Puget Sound region hasn’t seen,” Fink said.

The turf fields also will be used for more than just soccer and flag football, he said.

“In terms of active recreation, we are calling for multi-purpose fields,” Fink said. “We can also run baseball and yoga on the turf fields. The possibilities are endless.”

The business plan is still being designed. Fink said at the very least there will be things the public can use for free, such as the indoor playground and walking track. Whether there will be membership fees has not yet been determined.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 10:08 AM.