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The lifeguards are trained. The water is in the pools. The ice cream machine is loaded.
Saturday at noon, the Mountain Home Community and Aquatic Center finally opens its doors to the city’s first wave of paying members, ending a five-year wait that began with a tight sales tax vote in March 2021 and ran through 65,000 square feet of construction.
The doors swing open from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 23, and again from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 24. Both days are restricted to residents who already hold a paid membership. The center opens to the general public Monday, May 25, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Summer hours, running Memorial Day through Labor Day, are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays.
What members are walking into
Three pools sit under the glass-roofed natatorium, including a 25-yard competition pool, a heated therapy pool and a wading pool for the smallest swimmers. Outside, a lazy river circles past splash pads built for kids who want to spend the afternoon getting drenched.
Across the building, a 35,000-square-foot gymnasium runs three full basketball courts with pickleball and volleyball overlays. An elevated walking track loops above the floor for the early-morning crowd who would rather move than swim. A 30,000-square-foot convention center handles the larger gatherings.
The cafe, run by Denbro Coffee and Custard, will be open all weekend. A new ice cream machine rated at 420 pounds an hour was installed downstairs ahead of opening week.
“We’re gonna line up,” Mayor Hillrey Adams said. “We’re gonna try it out.”
What the weekend is really for
The two member days are a controlled run before the Memorial Day flood. City staff get to see how the building moves under real bodies and real towels and real toddlers chasing splash pad jets. Members get the building before the crowds.
Parks and Recreation Director Daniel Baxley’s team has been signing up memberships since February. Adams credited Baxley and the city’s HR staff with getting the building staffed in time, calling them as busy as the contractors.
Day-use prices for non-members start Monday at $10 for adults 18 and over, $8 for seniors 60 and over and $5 for youth.
The outdoor pool, lazy river and splash pads are expected to be running Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting.
A long road to Saturday
Voters approved a temporary half-cent and permanent quarter-cent sales tax in March 2021 to fund the project, by a 47-vote margin. Dirt work began in May 2023. The ceremonial groundbreaking followed in December 2023.
The price tag landed at $36.2 million for a complex that includes one of the only enclosed retractable-roof aquatic centers of its size in the region. Parking handles 400 vehicles, with separate bus drop-offs for school groups and out-of-town tournaments the city hopes to land.
For anyone wanting to grab a membership before this weekend or any weekend after, Baxley’s office is processing applications at the LC Sammons Youth Center in Cooper Park. City Hall takes general questions at 870-424-9311.
The pools are full. The doors open Saturday at noon. See you there.
