By DONNA REDMAN For the Journal
There shouldn’t be any excuses for someone to get bored in Rio Rancho.
With plenty of open space, good weather and some creative planning, there’s already a wealth of things to do.
Start with activities offered by the city.
“(As of Nov. 29) year-to-date, we’ve had 7,234 participants in our programs (for the year),” said Carrie Moritomo, communications and marketing director for the Rio Rancho Department of Cultural Enrichment.
“That doesn’t include swim lessons or adult sports,” she said. “It’s things like our adult tennis, our 3- to 5-year-old tumbling classes, art classes, cake decorating, coaching clinics, flag football, sports camps, summer camps — things like that.”
The city has 21 parks and three drainage areas with grass that can be used as parks.
Its two swimming pools, Haynes and Rainbow, are filled to capacity in the summertime, Moritomo said.
“We had over 3,000 participants in our Learn to Swim program between the two pools last year,” she said. “It’s for infants to 14- year-old kids and we also do adult Learn To Swim programs.”
The community’s only indoor pool open to the public is at Defined Fitness on Ridgerock Road, according to Moritomo and Shawn Gale, manager of Defined Fitness.
But that could change if voters approve a bond issue on March 7 to build an indoor aquatic center.
The city has three skate parks — at Rainbow Park, Star Heights Recreation Center and the Rio Rancho Sports Complex — with one more under construction in River’s Edge II.
“There’s all different age levels (at the skate parks),” Moritomo said, “and they’re not just skaters. Some are people who use skate boards, people who use rollerblades, some who hang out there with their little stunt bikes, things like that as well.”
The community’s largest recreation area is the Rio Rancho Sports Complex, which covers 78 acres. It has five Little League fields and two adult softball fields, Moritomo said. Eight acres of grass fields are used for a number of activities and events, such as the Fourth of July celebration and Oktoberfest, adult and youth flag football, dog shows and soccer games.
Each of the city’s three community centers — Haynes, Sabana Grande and Star Heights — offers classes and programs for children and adults.
The city has only one library, but another is under construction on Loma Colorado near the high school. The Esther Bone Library on Pine Street is overflowing with books, people and programs. The new library, scheduled to open in late summer, will afford much-needed room to expand.
The city isn’t the only source of things to do. The private sector has filled some niches:
Tenpins & More is the city’s only bowling alley, and it has undergone several transformations since it opened as Ranchero Bowl in 1983. It was also called Ideal Lanes and Fun Lanes before current proprietor Steve Mackie bought the place in December 1999 and changed the name.
The 24-lane Tenpins annually hosts the richest event in the state, the New Mexico Open, which offers a purse of about $15,000 every August.
The city’s only golf course, Chamisa Hills Country Club, is a private, 27-hole course. During its 35-year existence, it has also been called Rio Rancho Country Club and has bounced between private and public status.
The old Rio Rancho Country Club also used to host the Charley Pride celebrity tournament every year. It has hosted countless professional events through the years, including the New Mexico Open for men and women.
The Sports Corral, just north of Intel on Sara Road, offers miniature golf and batting cages. In March, it plans to open a paint ball field, partner Gary Kitts said.
Ice skating, hockey and soccer enthusiasts have the Blades Multiplex Arena.
Blades offers an ice rink, as well as an indoor soccer field. It has been around for 10 years or so and changed hands several times, said day manager Cherie Wiltsie. It used to be an ice arena and a roller rink, but about five years ago the roller rink was converted to a soccer field, she said.
“We hold soccer leagues year round there,” she added.
Everywhere you turn in Rio Rancho, you can see runners. Some run for fitness and fun, some are competitive runners.
The community offers at least two running events in the city every year — the Defined Fitness Duathlon for runners and bicyclists in April and Tammy’s Run on New Year’s Day. There is at least one runner’s club, the High Desert Wind Runners.
There is also a club for those who like to run, bike and swim. It’s Team TriSport, which is USA Triathlon sanctioned.
Those who lean toward motorized recreation can join any number of motorcycle clubs in Rio Rancho, said Rick Weinbrecht of Crossroads Cycles.
Among them are the Rio Rancho chapter of ABATE (American Bikers Aim Towards Education); the Black Berets, a veterans group based in Albuquerque, but most of whose members live in Rio Rancho, Weinbrecht said; the Mestizos; the Legion Riders, another veterans group; the Bandeleros; and the Christian Motorcycle Association.
“They all have members or chapters here,” he said.
There is also an ATV club called the Rio Red Riders based at West Honda.
There is a caveat about riding ATVs in Rio Rancho, though.
“There’s a lot of rules and laws (governing the use of ATVs),” said West Honda manager Will Fallis. “One of the laws in Rio Rancho is they cannot ride these things in the Rio Rancho city limits. Rio Rancho residents can buy them and take them somewhere else, but they can’t operate them anywhere in the city limits.
“We do have a club with about 35 members and we meet monthly and take trips,” he said. “We schedule appropriate rides in appropriate locations.
Journal staff writer James Yodice contributed to this story.
Public’s wish list
City consultant SITE Southwest conducted a survey last year to determine the recreation projects Rio Rancho residents believe are most needed in the future. The survey was done in conjunction with the city’s recreation master plan update.
Here were the top eight, not necessarily in order of preference:
Indoor aquatic center (Residents will vote March 7 on a $7 million bond issue to help build the center).
Community recreation center and park in the northern part of the city.
A community park and festival ground.
Rio Rancho sports complex in northern Rio Rancho.
A neighborhood park development package, which includes improvements or modifications to existing parks.
A community recreation center and park for western Rio Rancho.
An aquatic center for the north side of the city.
Improvements to arroyo corridors and maintain open space where people can walk and enjoy the outdoors.
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