At Redmond's New Hub, the Schedule Decides Who Gets the Water

The Hub Aquatic and Recreation Center opened on SW Lava Avenue on Sept. 17. It fixes the problem that defined swimming in Redmond for decades: too many people sharing one pool. It fixes it by splitting the water into time blocks, and once a block fills up, a membership card doesn't move you ahead of anyone.

So the posted schedule matters more here than at most gyms. Knowing which pool is open for what, and when, is the difference between floating in the lazy river and watching it from the deck.

The old pool's problem was one body of water for everyone

Cascade Swim Center, next to Redmond High School, has been in use since the late 1970s. It was built when Redmond had about 6,000 residents. Katie Hammer, executive director of the Redmond Area Park and Recreation District, laid out the conflict in The Bulletin's opening-day coverage: "When we have a fitness class, a water fitness class, we have sometimes 40 or 50 people in there and it takes up the whole pool and so then the lap swimmers can't swim during those times."

The Hub answers that with two separate pools. One is an 8-lane, 25-meter lap pool built for swim meets and water polo. The other is a leisure pool area with a three-foot-deep pool connected to a current channel, a hot tub, and a separate water slide. Jennifer Stenkamp told Central Oregon Daily she was most looking forward to the warm water: "the leisure, the warm water pool, which is going to be 86 degrees. It's like being in a bath."

RAPRD still splits each pool into hourly blocks, which is why a schedule you'd glance at for a gym has to be read closely for this building.

A pass gets you in the door. It doesn't hold you a spot

Open swim, lap swim, open gym and fitness classes at The Hub mostly run as drop-in programs, and RAPRD's rules for them are short:

Entry is granted in the order guests arrive, regardless of payment type. Once a program reaches its capacity, staff will admit additional participants only as others leave.

The district states plainly that members don't get priority in drop-in programs. What a membership buys is unlimited access and a lower cost per visit. RAPRD says the capacity limits come from safety standards, staff-to-participant ratios, available equipment and the size of each space.

Two more rules shape how a visit plays out. Daily admission covers one visit per day with no re-entry, so leaving for lunch and coming back means paying again. Children under 42 inches tall or age 7 and under must be supervised in the water, within arm's reach, by a paying patron 16 or older. A parent who planned to watch from a bench needs to plan on getting wet.

What a recent week of pool time looked like

The pool calendar changes week to week, so treat this as one example. It shows how the two pools were split from Thursday, Oct. 8, through Monday, Oct. 12.

Weekdays belong to lap swimmers and water walkers for most of the day, with a 10-hour block starting at 5 a.m. Recreation swim, the session with the slide and current channel, got under two hours on those weekday evenings. On the weekend it opened to both pools for four hours in the afternoon. Late afternoons on school days go to swim lessons and swim team.

For a family trying to get the kids into the leisure pool, that leaves two real options: a weekday evening window of about two hours, or Saturday and Sunday afternoons. With entry granted in arrival order and capacity capped, the start of those windows is when the line forms. Check the live Hub schedule before you go, since RAPRD changes it.

On land, the gym calendar listed drop-in basketball, including 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 10 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 11, plus early-morning blocks on weekdays. It didn't list separate pickleball sessions during that stretch, even though the court is lined for pickleball and volleyball.

The price math behind a routine

Because a membership doesn't buy priority, its value depends on how often you show up. RAPRD's admission page lists in-district and out-of-district rates. Here are the in-district numbers, followed by what they work out to:

1. Adult drop-in is $8. A 10-punch card costs $68, or $6.80 a visit. A 30-day adult pass costs $78, so it pays for itself on about the tenth visit of the month.
2. Household drop-in is $24 for up to six people at the same address. The 30-day household pass is $156, so it beats paying at the door once a household makes seven trips in a month.
3. Longer terms lower the monthly rate. A 12-month household membership is $1,248, or $104 a month against $156 for the 30-day pass. A 12-month adult membership is $624, or $52 a month against $78.
4. Out-of-district rates run about 30 percent higher. Adult drop-in is $10.50 instead of $8, and the 30-day household pass is $203 instead of $156.

Hammer told Central Oregon Daily the resident discount is a thank-you to the community for passing the 2022 bond. Sign-up asks for your address, and staff will verify it if needed. RAPRD's terms add that passes and memberships are nonrefundable and nontransferable, and can be extended or suspended only for documented medical reasons. A long membership only pays off if you use it.

The rooms built for people who plan ahead

Several Hub spaces only make sense if you plan your visit. Child Watch runs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. for ages 6 months to 6 years. It costs $5 and is limited to 90 minutes per visit, which is long enough for a fitness class plus a lap set.

The fitness center has free weights, machines and treadmills, plus two group-fitness rooms for classes like Zumba, kickboxing and yoga. Teens 14 and older can use the cardio and weight equipment on their own. Kids 11 to 13 can use cardio equipment with a parent or guardian present.

The Bulletin's opening coverage listed classes including kendo, the Japanese martial art of fencing, and springboard diving. An indoor walking track circles the gym, which gives you somewhere to walk in winter when the roads are icy. Central Oregon Daily also described two multipurpose rooms, a conference room, a small kitchen for cooking classes, and a wellness room.

Building hours are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Entry stops 15 minutes before closing. RAPRD notes the hours may change based on program needs and attendance.

The pieces still coming

What opened in September is Phase One. The opening was pushed back from July by construction delays, and the ceremonial ribbon cutting was scheduled for Oct. 3. The outdoor area is planned for next spring and will add turf soccer fields, more pickleball courts and age-separated playgrounds. The Bulletin reported that construction on those outdoor amenities would continue after the building opened.

Those extra pickleball courts should take some pressure off the indoor gym once they open. The old pool's future is less certain. According to both The Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman, the Redmond School District has no plans for Cascade Swim Center, and it isn't clear whether it will be torn down.

Fitting a swim around downtown's calendar

The weekend afternoon recreation-swim window fits around downtown Redmond's holiday events. Trick or Treat on 6th Street runs Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4 to 6 p.m., with Sixth Street closed between Black Butte and Forest. The Holiday Village Market opens at Centennial Park on Nov. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more vendor dates on Nov. 28, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. The Starlight Parade follows on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sixth Street, with an "Elf"-inspired theme.

If the Saturday pool schedule stays at 1 to 5 p.m. and holiday hours don't change it, a family could finish recreation swim and still reach Sixth Street when the parade starts. Check RAPRD's calendar that week before counting on it.

At The Nolte Group, we keep track of how new places like The Hub fit into daily life in Redmond. If you're weighing how close you'd want to live to Lava Avenue, or just want to know what else is opening around town, schedule a free consultation and we'll walk you through it.