What Do You Want at New Rec Center?

A new regional rec center will have a 10,000-square-foot gym and 5,000 square feet of all purpose rooms.

But Hillsborough County officials want feedback from users about what else they may want at a new $3.3 million center.

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that construction will start next year at the Larry Sanders Progress Village Sports Complex on 78th Street.

The design will take place over the next several months, with Hillsborough County getting input from the people who will use it.

People should send comments to Steve Valdez in Citizen Services, at info@hillsboroughcounty.org.

Some neighborhood rec centers will now be managed by nonprofits because of declining funds and attendance, Mark Thornton, chief of the county's Parks and Rec Department, said in the article.

The new center will draw users from Progress Village, Palm River, Clair-Mel City, Magnolia Park and Winston Park.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Thornton told the public that:

“We haven’t closed any centers and we’re not closing any parks,” Thornton told a small group gathered at the Progress Village Park. “But this will be the first time in seven or eight years that we’re planning a new full-service (regional) rec center.”