Despite a spate of big recreation-related projects here, those who work in that industry say still more public investment in ball fields, swimming pools, gyms, and other sports facilities is needed to meet tremendous growth in demand.

In Spokane, the YMCA and YWCA have joined forces to build two big new centers, while in Coeur d'Alene, the expansive Kroc center opened in May. The city of Spokane, meanwhile, is rebuilding its swimming pools and adding a new one, and also is redeveloping the busy athletic fields north of Albi Stadium. In all more than $125 million has been or is being invested in new or upgraded recreation facilities here.

Yet, says Eric Sawyer, executive director of the Spokane Regional Sports Commission, while the projects are certainly welcome additions to the community, they don't necessarily meet some of the specific needs that are growing tremendously here.

"We need more accessible and well-maintained gym space," for example, says Sawyer.

"We've seen growth of like 800 percent over the last 15 years in girls' club volleyball, but where do they have to go to practice? The number of gyms in Spokane County has actually decreased," Sawyer says.

Demand for youth sports has soared as clubs have replaced school-based programs and communities have begun to recognize the potential economic benefits of hosting sporting events, he says, but asserts that Spokane as a community hasn't invested heavily enough in serving that demand.

"The National Recreation and Park Association says a healthy community invests 12 percent to 15 percent of its budget in parks and recreation services," Sawyer says. He says the city of Spokane spends 8 percent of its general budget on parks and recreation, but "if you take the county as a whole," the community invests just 2 percent overall, Sawyer says.

In that regard, he says, "We're failing as a community."

Philip Helean, executive director of the nonprofit Spokane Youth Sports Association, says people here tell him that the Spokane area is lagging in number and quality of facilities.

"It's not always just the quantity of fields, but the quality," he says. "I hear all the time, 'How come the Tri-Cities or Yakima have such great facilities and Spokane is so far behind?'"

Sawyer says inroads are being made, including the current $7.8 million renovation of the Dwight Merkel playfield near Joe Albi Stadium, which is under way. When complete, that facility will include five lighted softball fields, two lighted artificial-turf soccer fields, six grass soccer fields, concessions, a neighborhood park, and trails. He says the upgrades will help the facility host competitions, which can pay economic dividends for the city.

Five competition softball fields at the Dwight Merkel complex, for example, will create $69 million in potential economic benefit, Sawyer says.

Additionally, Spokane County has discussed setting aside some of the land near its Spokane County Raceway for future community recreation space.

Still, Sawyer says, there's not one actual youth baseball field in the Spokane area. A youth baseball field typically would have a grass infield and a pitcher's mound. Youth baseball groups instead must use converted softball or adult baseball fields for their games, including several at a South Hill sports complex owned by SYSA. Several groups are seeking now to build youth baseball playfields but Sawyer says those groups are running into neighborhood opposition, and wouldn't build such facilities until they could raise enough money to build them.

"Sports facilities can typically generate the revenue they need to maintain their facilities through users," but often fail when the facilities are burdened with debt from construction and startup, Sawyer says. "What messes it up is when you introduce debt."

For that reason, Sawyer says it makes sense for the public to finance such facilities. There are other unmet needs here, too, he says.

"Even though we're rebuilding the pools—including Witter, which will be competitive—we don't have an aquatic center that can host a lot of tournaments," Sawyer says.

The recently opened $38 million Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center in Coeur d'Alene does include competition swimming space, but some of the newest indoor pool facilities here, at the YMCA of the Inland Northwest's new buildings, aren't designed to host swim meets, says Steve Jurich, vice president of operations for the YMCA here.

The YMCA facilities represent an emphasis on family-oriented physical recreation, Jurich says. The YMCA doesn't even use those facilities for its own league sports, but rather, rents space at public schools so it can keep its gyms open for member use.

The new YMCA/YWCA Central Facility opened recently and another North Side YMCA/YWCA facility is expected to open at the end of August, but such facilities don't address the need for gym space for organized clubs, Sawyer says. The facilities will cost a combined $40.5 million.

"In the old days you used to go to your neighborhood school gym," he says, but now the schools' priorities have shifted, and the newer buildings use multipurpose facilities that can serve several functions, but aren't always standard gymnasium size.

"The demands the club programs are putting on sports facilities aren't being met by schools," Sawyer says. "They put the demand on parks and recreation departments and they don't have the facilities to meet that demand."

Demand for rental space at schools has risen about 10 percent just over the last year, says Terren Roloff, a spokeswoman for Spokane Public Schools. Applications for rentals by groups such as the YMCA, the Pop Warner football and cheerleading organization, and Amateur Athletic Union basketball make up a lot of that increase. The district prioritizes rentals of the space, allowing school-sanctioned events and nonprofits first, then civic and private groups, Roloff says.

The SYSA offers classes and leagues in a variety of sports, including indoor and outdoor soccer, baseball, softball, tackle and flag football, track and field, cross country running, lacrosse, and high-school age recreational basketball and volleyball. It teams up with the YMCA on some of its programs, Helean says.

"We have gone from 7,000 to 10,000 (participants) in the last four years," he says.

Businesses such as SoccerTots, which offers soccer classes for youngsters, also are growing, says Shereen Brewster, director of the SoccerTots franchise here.

"Our summer program is huge now. We have almost 300 kids," compared with less than 200 last year, Brewster says.

The YMCA has seen significant membership growth.

"With the new central YMCA, in the three months that we've been open our membership there has more than doubled," Jurich says.

It's not just families with young kids who seek out such facilities, Jurich says.

"Our senior memberships have grown substantially—we're seeing a lot more people in their 60s and 70s, and even 80s," he says.

Helean says SYSA leases several outdoor fields from school districts and parks departments, and packs as much punch into each as it can.

SYSA has leased access to the Dwight Merkel facility for about 30 years, Helean says. Since that field is under construction, the organization is using alternative fields here to accommodate its regular schedule. Helean says the more fields that must be used, the more equipment and referees are needed to cover games.

"It's challenging to be spread out. We had five locations last year, and 11 this year," he says. "Logistically, it's difficult."

He says there's definitely competition for space. He says other groups would like to take over use of the Dwight Merkel field, but adds that sometimes they don't understand that along with its lease, SYSA also pays to maintain the fields.

Though programs like SoccerTots have an easier time renting space at parks in the summer since they don't need an actual soccer field for their children's athletic classes, for much of the year they have had to secure indoor space, which is a bigger challenge, Brewster says.

"It's expensive to rent the space, and the demographics can be tricky," Brewster says. For example, she says, SoccerTots has a location in Nine Mile, but has little demand for classes out there. "Meanwhile, on the South Hill we're in the smallest space possible, and we turn away customers because we're so full," she says.

"We use gyms, yoga rooms, day cares," but sometimes the private classes are bumped if other priorities arise, such as churches rescinding several weekends during a 14-week class due to church functions being scheduled, she says.

Because of the challenges of finding space, SoccerTots is preparing a new indoor space it has leased, which will include a practice-sized field, smaller than a regulation 80-foot by 180-foot field. "Once we have that open, we'll have plenty of excess space," which the business hopes to offer as a practice space for other groups and individuals as well, she says. Brewster says SoccerTots also will continue to hold classes at satellite locations, but will have more flexibility by having its own space.

Sawyer says Spokane residents have demonstrated their support by passing a recent bond measure to rebuild park facilities, including public swimming pools and the Merkel complex, to the tune of $43 million, and if recent activity at the YMCA is any indication, both public- and private-run facilities will be well-used.

"We saw 70 percent of city of Spokane voters support the park bond to rebuild the pools and (at) Albi," Sawyer says. "It was a reflection of how the public is willing to support schools and sports and recreation. They just need to be given a good program."

"We just continue to try to improve facilities," Helean says, adding that the upgrades to the Merkel complex are "a good first step."