Name for new Sun City Anthem rec center up in the air

By Becky Bosshart

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 | 6:38 p.m.

Sun City Anthem residents will see the first beams of a new $8 million recreation center rise later this month, but they won't know what to call the complex.

The Sun City Anthem Board of Directors will mull over the name in the next few months. Some residents favor the patriotic theme, like the other two rec centers in the 55-plus community.

Kathy Cox, a Canyon Crest village resident since 1999, said she likes the name Liberty Center because it honors Anthem's heritage. The residents chose that name for the first center, but the developer went with Anthem instead, she said.

"I think we should honor the wishes of the pioneers who were here before everything else and name it Liberty Center," Cox said.

A patriotic name fits, said several residents who were working on projects in the Anthem Center ceramics room.

"(I like) Spirit Center because you're going to be working out to lift your spirits," said Mike Mooneyham, a Tall Mesa village resident.

His wife, Bobbi Mooneyham, favors Constitution Center or Encore. Her husband was quick to point out a problem with her choice.

"You don't want to get into it with Steve Wynn," he said. The casino executive opened the Encore casino and resort earlier this month.

The center's location is the most important thing, said Stacey Jacobson, of Overlook village, so, naming it Shadow Canyon Rec Center would tell people where it's at, she said.

Contractor TWC is working on the eight-acre site in the southeastern corner of the community at Somersworth Drive and Roseburg Way, near Shadow Canyon Drive.

The 20,000-square-foot building will be constructed using environmentally sustainable standards developed by the U.S Green Building Council, based on criteria established in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System.

The center will have indoor and outdoor pools, multipurpose rooms, a fitness center, spa, tennis and bocce courts.

"It should enhance the value of our homes by giving future residents a reason to come join our community," said Roz Berman, president of the home owners' board of directors.

The center broke ground in October 2008 and is expected to be completed in October, she said.

Courtney Rice, spokeswoman for Pulte Homes and the communities of Del Webb, said workers are on schedule and will begin pouring the concrete foundation and then start vertical construction late this month or in early February.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or [email protected].