Manatee County leaders are cutting the cost of admission to the G.T. Bray Recreation Center, a move they hope will attract more people to the facility.
Located in West Bradenton, the facility offers swimming in an Olympic-size pool, a kiddie pool and splash ground, fitness center, exercise classes, teen center, tennis hard courts, racquetball, and the use of the gym to play basketball, volleyball, badminton, pickleball, and cornhole.
But despite all of these amenities, the staff at this facility, which is open seven days a week, said they’ve noticed that few younger families take advantage of the center.
- MORE INFO: G.T. Bray Rec Center
Fitness and wellness coordinator Mallory Carteaux said she thinks the cost of admission keeps many people from coming.
“It’s not super affordable for everybody,” she said.
While the playgrounds and walking trails are free to use, you have to pay to use the pool, fitness center and more.
As a result, the county has decided to lower the prices to see if this attracts more people.
“Even though we’ve added things like kids club and kids programs, we were not getting those younger families in here,” said Carteaux. “So, we’re hoping that with the reduced membership base we can get younger families in here.”
New admission and membership fees went into effect starting Sept. 1. An adult one-month pass went from $43 to $20, and the cost of a daily guest pass went from $5.50 to $3.
County rec officials hope the affordable prices will bring in more people to enjoy everything the facility has to offer.