City of Aurora keeps membership costs down as new Southeast Recreation Center and Fieldhouse opens

Keeping your New Year's Resolutions usually comes with a price. The City of Aurora is giving people one more option to help you stick to those resolutions, without the high cost.

Pickleball is one of the most competitive games you can play, especially for those whose hair is decorated in salt and pepper.

"It's just awesome! It's lots of fun. I'm addicted to it. My husband will tell you that," said Mary Kay Ryan, who plays pickleball every Tuesday and Thursday at the recently opened Southeast Recreation Center and Fieldhouse.

 
"It's just getting to know more people and being active. Working my body out. Not sitting at home being a couch potato," she says.

This is one of the many activities available at the 77,000 square foot recreation center which opened on Jan. 17. It comes with fitness areas where you can lift weights, run on the treadmill or take a stroll on the dynamic track which features multiple inclines and declines. It also comes the city's first indoor fieldhouse and an indoor waterpark.

"This is a place where we want people to have their birthday parties, said Erin Pulliam, Superintendent of Marketing and Special Events for the City of Aurora. "We want people to come play pickleball with all their favorite friends and things like that and just really have that community feel."

The $41.9 million investment in the rec center is not by accident. Aurora is ranked as the 89th best city in the nation for an active lifestyle by WalletHub. Denver comes in at 9th on the list.

Annual adult membership to the rec centers in Aurora are $310, which comes out to just over $25 a month.
Also, if you're looking for a free option to get in shape, Aurora has 99 parks and 103 miles of trails.

"When you look at our membership packages, or even just our entry fees, we try to make them affordable to everybody," said Beth Yacono, Recreation Supervisor for the City of Aurora.

"This is your center. This is your community. We don't want to have a price that prohibits you from enjoying it," said Pulliam.