The city’s new public recreation center — Sports Pavilion Lawrence — opened October 5th at Rock Chalk Park in northwest Lawrence.
University of Kansas Athletics also built a sports complex at Rock Chalk Park, including the new stadiums for Kansas track and field, softball and soccer. Rock Chalk Park is located at 6th Street, off of George Williams Way near the northeast corner of the 6th Street and K-10 intersection.
Project Renderings and Plans
View the latest recreation center architectural plans and renderings.
Renderings and plans (11.1 MB)Project Documents
Project Background
The Rock Chalk Park consists of a total of approximately 89 acres, adjacent to 46 acres which is already owned by the city and includes the area along Baldwin Creek. The city purchased 26 acres for the addition of the recreation center and associated amenities such as shared use paths.
A development agreement has been approved between the City of Lawrence, RCP, LLC (a KU Endowment-related entity), Bliss Sports, and Bliss Sports II, setting forth the terms of agreement amongst the entities for the construction of the city’s recreation center and associated amenities, the transfer of property to the city, and the construction of infrastructure that will jointly serve the KU Athletic facilities and the city’s facilities. The city’s portion of the project is capped at $22.5 million after a generous donation from Bill and Cindy Self’s Assists Foundation in the amount of up to $2 million. The project is expected to open in 2014.
What does the city get for $22.5 million?
The following provides a graphical representation of the development agreement. Please note, the renderings and plans provided show the cross-court configuration. The courts will be striped to allow for half-court and full-court use for basketball, as well as 16 full-size volleyball courts.
Next steps?
The city believes the project is an extraordinary opportunity for the community. Not only does it address our much-needed indoor gym space needs, the project provides the opportunity to host sports tournaments in our city, capturing sales tax revenue from retail sales to out-of-town visitors and recapturing revenues currently lost to other communities. Additionally, the project provides a synergy with the KU Athletic facilities, a synergy that would be unique for the State of Kansas and the entire region. The collaboration allows for the maximization of shared infrastructure.