Center of Recreational Excellence (CORE)

With goals of enhancing the quality of life and improving the health of area residents, the City of Hobbs, Lea County, New Mexico Junior College, Hobbs Municipal Schools, University of the Southwest, and J.F. Maddox Foundation joined forces to collaborate on The Center of Recreational Excellence (CORE).  This $62.8 million center includes a fitness area with strength and cardio equipment, aerobics room with TRX system, indoor and outdoor turf fields, a gymnasium, 2 racquetball courts, a jogging track, a 10-lane competition pool, leisure pool with lazy river and water slides, therapy pool, and a spa.  The CORE also has private cabanas, team locker rooms, a child watch space, an immense indoor playground, game zone, lounge, community/multi-purpose rooms, and administrative offices.  Reese Hackman provided the electrical engineering, interior and exterior lighting design, as well as technology infrastructure design services.  Unique lighting was developed in the indoor pool area to emulate the night-time setting of an outdoor pool.  Design elements such as lighting controls that maximize daylight harvesting in the main rotunda, turf field, and gymnasium encourage sustainability and are enabling the project to pursue LEED Silver Certification.  Architecture of the 158,000 square foot CORE was a joint effort between Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture and Dekker Perich Sabatini.

Photography by James Ray Spahn