Recreation Center improvements, new TSX Baseball

Step by step, the City is improving its recreational offerings. 2021 will see a remaking the Taylor Recreation Center with the focus on the heavily used areas of the weight room, cardio room and HIT room. Meanwhile, it will also see the opening of “TSX Baseball” at the Sportsplex

The recreation center reopened in 2014 after sitting closed due to budget constraints. At that time, much of the flooring was replaced. That was followed by major renovations in the gymnasium, which was turned into an indoor baseball/softball center; creation of the Taylor Business Center, which houses tenants in a “shared” business atmosphere; and a high-tech “spinning” studio was incorporated last year into the center. The business center portion of the building has been leased to capacity for two years, and the spinning studio was a big draw before the pandemic.

“We’ve undergone an improvement process on a step-by-step basis,” Recreation Director Guido Guido said. “The recreation center needs new equipment and the weight room needs a facelift. We feel that this new plan has accomplished these goals, and will offer our customers a much better experience.”

The majority of newest improvements will go into the weight room, and include over 1,700 square feet of new rubberized flooring, complete with a 16- by 10-foot custom “Taylor Recreation Center” inlay floor logo. All of the equipment will be replaced: Smith Machine, combo bench, squat rack, leg press, squat machine, lat pulldown machine, fly machine, two sets of dumbbells with storage, three adjustable benches, shoulder seated bench, preacher curl bench, all weight plates and bars, EZ and hammer curls, hex bar, decline sit up bench, hyper extension bench, T Bar Landmine, standing hip-glut machine, seated dual ab-back machine, dip knee raise, and two four-station multi-gym machines.

The cardio room will receive four Elliptical machines, three treadmills, a climber and recumbent bike. The HIT room – an area usually used by people waiting their turn, warming up or between stations – will be outfitted with a cross fit style rig and kettle bells.

All of this is approximately a $100,000 investment.

Meanwhile, “TSX Baseball” is an exciting expansion of offerings at the Sportsplex. The new program will be housed in the main open-field soccer arena and include three batting cages and the availability of full infield play, all of which can be adjustable to the age and talent level of the participants, from youth farm through college and professional athletics. The cages are retractable to the ceiling, allowing for even more space for issues like long toss during any scheduled outing.

“This is a great opportunity for the City to expand its sports offerings at the TSX,” Mayor Rick Sollars said. “When the $26M facility was built, it was essentially dedicated to hockey and indoor soccer. With these hi-tech additions, we can extend our offerings to baseball and softball without sacrificing any of our soccer and/or hockey programs.”

Taylor will now have two modern indoor baseball facilities – one at the Recreation Center and the other at TSX. Each will offer team and individual opportunities for both baseball and softball, but only the TSX will offer full infield and larger space options. Adjustable pitching mounds will also be available. Long-term contract and Taylor Little League rates will be available. For pricing and scheduling, call (734) 374-8900 Ext. 0.