On Friday, May 22, the city of Mountain Home held a ribbon cutting and walk-through of its new community and aquatic center, which opened fully to the public on Memorial Day.

“Folks, at this time, if anybody would like to go swimming, if anybody would like to go play pickleball, if you’d like to go play basketball, if you’d like to do anything help yourself,” Mayor Hillrey Adams said upon cutting the ribbon. “We are wide open.”

The more than $36 million facility is the largest public project in the city’s history. The complex totals about 65,000 square feet and includes a 30,000-square-foot convention center; a 35,000-square-foot gymnasium with an indoor track; exercise and weightlifting areas; an indoor aquatic center featuring a competition pool, exercise pool and children’s play area; and outdoor aquatic facilities that include a lazy river and splash pads. The center also features a small cafe, Denbro Coffee and Custard, which is the second location of a local family-owned business.

Mountain Home voters passed a temporary half-cent and permanent quarter-cent sales tax in March 2021 to fund the complex along with other parks improvements. The city broke ground on the project in December 2023.