Casa Grande city officials presented plans for recreational facility expansions during a City Council study session held on Monday, April 21, 2025. Community Services Director Daniel Gallegos and City Manager Larry Rains outlined proposals for new sports fields and an aquatic complex with an estimated price tag of $67 million.
Proposed Facilities
The presentation focused on implementing portions of the city’s Community Services Master Plan, with two distinct development areas: sports fields at the Paul Mason and Ed Hooper Park area, and an aquatic complex near the existing Casa Grande Community Recreation Center.
“Right now, the city does not need additional land to develop. We have areas that we should be developing first, and a couple of those areas are at the Paul Mason, Ed Hooper Park area,” Gallegos explained during his presentation.
Gallegos showed concept plans that would add a “cloverleaf” of four baseball/softball fields to the west of the existing baseball fields and rodeo grounds at Paul Mason, plus multipurpose fields, with each “block” designed to accommodate up to three soccer fields, also usable for football. City Manager Rains clarified: “When you talk about one block of the multi-use fields, that’s actually three soccer fields in one box.”
The proposed development would be completed in phases, with the current $39.5 million estimate covering Phase 1a-1b, which includes only the red and orange shaded fields and associated infrastructure; blue-phase fields shown in concept plans are part of a potential future phase. Councilmember Matt Herman asked about adding fields from the blue-shaded area, but Gallegos explained those would fall under a future phase, not included in the current estimate.
No formal civil engineering or architectural design has been completed for either project at this stage, which Rains noted would add time to the project timeline.
For the aquatic center, Gallegos noted the location near the existing Community Recreation Center would provide efficiency: “When you put a pool next to an existing recreation plan, you save on a few things like front desks and things like that, and possibly including some locker rooms that can be utilized both for the internal and the external.”
The aquatic complex carries an estimated price tag of $27.7 million. This facility would include main and recreational heated pools that could operate year-round, plus locker rooms and amenities. Mayor Fitzgibbons clarified that the proposed pools would be “heated, but not indoor,” with Gallegos confirming that all Valley city pools are “outdoor facility, but heated.” Despite some public requests for an indoor facility, the current concept aligns with other Valley cities which use heated outdoor pools.
Current Facility Constraints
Council members heard that existing recreational facilities in Casa Grande are facing significant capacity issues.
“Staff are jigsaw puzzling where to put people, where to put the kids,” Gallegos said. He provided specific examples of the shortage, noting “if you wanted to rent O’Neill South on Mondays since January 1st, there was one day available for you to rent that field. It was taken 21 of the 22 days.”
Gallegos presented examples of recently completed recreational facilities in nearby cities, including a $29 million aquatic complex in Avondale, a $31 million facility in Surprise, and a $72 million project in Queen Creek that included both aquatic facilities and a recreation center.
Financing Options and Tax Implications
City Manager Larry Rains discussed two financing mechanisms Casa Grande has used historically: sales tax-based financing and general obligation bonds. For this project, he focused primarily on general obligation bonds, which would require voter approval and be funded through property taxes.
Rains noted the city’s bonding capacity has nearly doubled in recent years. “Our capacity limits have moved in 2022 from $128 million of total capacity for projects into fiscal year 2025 of $255 million,” he said.
When Councilmember Matt Herman asked about the tax impact, Rains provided a hypothetical estimate. “On $50 million, if we were to issue a $50 million bond at the current tax environment that we see today, that would essentially create a 50 cent per 100 assessed value increase to service that debt,” Rains said. For a home valued at $350,000-$400,000, this would mean approximately $200-$250 in additional property taxes annually.
Herman contextualized these figures by comparing Casa Grande’s property taxes to neighboring Maricopa, noting that Maricopa residents pay about $500 more annually in property taxes for similar homes, which helps fund their recreational amenities.
“When you compare amenities, you have to compare everything that goes into it,” Herman said. “So we’re still investing in roads and infrastructure, but this is a good way to invest in our youth and our community.”
Regarding funding options, Rains explained: “We have been collecting development impact fees on similar types of amenities for a number of years. And we’ve roughly collected about $8 million.” This amount falls far short of the estimated total cost, highlighting the need for bond financing. Rains indicated development impact fees could potentially be used to reduce the amount of borrowing required.
Gallegos explained why the costs are so high: “Originally, when we got some numbers back, they said, ‘Yeah, the fields are about $8 million for that cloverleaf.’ But then when they brought back all the infrastructure costs, that’s when it rose considerably.” The infrastructure costs for parking, roads, and related amenities significantly increased the overall estimates.
Councilmember Bob Huddleston reminded the council of discussions from their recent budget meeting. “The common thought that I got out of the budget meeting was, we would likely go a bond issue paid for by property tax for the recreation improvements, and the road improvements would likely be sales tax increase to pay a bond,” he said. This approach would address both recreational and transportation infrastructure needs through different funding mechanisms.
Timeline
If approved, construction would not begin immediately. Gallegos estimated approximately 24 months from approval to completion, noting this timeline is consistent with similar projects in neighboring communities.
“When I researched some of these cities, it was about when they got approved, even when final approval from voters came through, it was still about two years out,” Gallegos explained.
Larry Rains emphasized that civil design work would need to be completed before construction could begin: “We would have to design both of those projects, starting from scratch. That ultimately adds time to a project schedule.”
Rains noted that most capital expenses would likely occur in fiscal year 2027, with some potential design costs in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
Community Needs and Public Input
The Casa Grande Community Services Master Plan identified the aquatic complex and multipurpose fields as top priorities based on a community survey. Gallegos referenced this survey during his presentation, noting, “The swim complex, which we would call aquatic complex and multipurpose fields are at the top of the list.”
Councilmember Matt Herman affirmed this community input, stating, “Not only a pool, but heated pool was right up in the top.” Herman emphasized the facilities would serve multiple age groups.
Several residents spoke in support of the proposal during the meeting. Sal Dalessandro, a local club softball organizer representing nearly 100 girls, emphasized that new fields could attract major tournaments from organizations like Perfect Game and Triple Crown.
“I work with counterparts in nine other cities — Mesa, Tempe, Maricopa — and I’ve seen firsthand the economic impact that facilities like Legacy and Rose Mofford bring in on weekends. It’s gonna be big for the City of Casa Grande,” said Dalessandro.
Another resident, Sandy Donahue, expressed enthusiasm for a heated pool facility, noting that since LA Fitness closed, many residents have had to drive to Chandler for indoor swimming options.
Residents interested in supporting the proposal were encouraged to attend the May 5 council meeting and consult with the City Clerk regarding what might be needed to support the measure.
Path to Voter Approval
For the project to appear on the November 2025 ballot, the City Council must call for an election and pass a resolution at their upcoming May 5, 2025 meeting, establishing the scope of the project and the funding amount to be pursued. These items must be submitted to Pinal County by May 8 to make the November ballot.
The City Council is expected to present more detailed financial information at this May 5 meeting. Councilmember Bob Huddleston indicated support for the recreational facilities but reminded the council they also need to consider road infrastructure improvements in their overall planning.
If voters approve funding in November 2025, residents could see new facilities open sometime in 2027. Gallegos estimated approximately 24 months from approval to completion, noting this timeline is consistent with similar projects in neighboring communities.
