Fairway Center

10600 W. Peoria Ave.
Sun City, AZ

Oakmont Center

10725 W. Oakmont Drive
Sun City, AZ

When Sun City opened in January 1960, the Community Center (now Oakmont) Recreation Center was ready for use.

It welcomed the new residents with a swimming pool, a 250-seat auditorium, lawn bowling and several multi-purpose rooms for classes and clubs. The center was designed to serve the 1,200 residents of New Life Unit 1. When Del Webb Development Corp. turned the center over to residents in 1961, voluntary dues of $12 per year were initiated. About a third of the residents chose not to give voluntarily so mandatory dues of $20 per year were established.

House sales were so strong that a second set of model homes along with a recreation center, Town Hall (now Fairway), were opened a year later. It would serve the 1,500 residents in homes being built south of Sun City Boulevard in New Life Unit 2.

Town Hall had additional amenities — an 800-seat auditorium with full stage and dressing rooms, outdoor terraced Greek theater, library and more. Horse corrals were added west of 111th Avenue for resident horse owners. When the center was turned over to residents, dues were set at $12 per year, but were mandatory unlike the other center. The much larger size and greater amenities did not sit well with the first residents who could only use the Community Center. They appealed to DEVCO officials to expand their center, but when they learned the expense would double the annual fee to $40, they voted not to proceed.

A third recreation center was proposed for the southern-most part of Phase 1, and ownership was offered to the Town Hall group upon completion. The membership voted 23-1 to accept it, and it became known as Town Hall South. It opened in July 1967 and featured a 1200-seat single level auditorium, sunken pool and cabana area, exercise room, therapy pool, craft and meeting rooms, and more. Except for concerts or communitywide programs, residents of New Life Unit 1 were unable to join clubs at either of the Town Hall centers, nor use their pool or exercise rooms and vice-versa. Feelings were running strong and there were those in both areas looking for a compromise to what had been nicknamed the “Berlin Wall.”

The plans for the expansive new recreation center that was to be built just across Grand Avenue in Phase 2 may have changed some minds. Continuation of the current policy would mean no one living south of Grand could use this attractive facility or its lake.

John Meeker had become president of DEVO in 1966 and gave a high priority to developing a sense of “community.” He believed residents should be able to use any rec center, just as they could play on any golf course. He gave Project Manager Owen Childress the challenge of working with leaders of the three rec centers to come to an agreement that would affect not just the existing centers but future ones as well. Also included was a small sum for improvements at the first center. Residents voted overwhelmingly in favor! To signal a new beginning, the three centers were renamed Oakmont, Fairway and Mountain View. The new center would be named Lakeview.

Removing the “Berlin Wall” made future rec centers available to all. Sundial opened in 1973 with its mammoth indoor pool, 1,800-seat auditorium plus new club and recreational activities. The spacious Bell Center came in 1976 with the most recreational activities of any center, plus a library with space for 50,000 volumes.

The expansive nature of the Bell Center caused it to run over budget by $5 million. As a result, the Recreation Centers of Sun City released DEVCO from its commitment to add one more center at 99th Avenue and Union Hills Drive. Residents of Phase 3, however, did not accept the loss of a rec center that they believed had been promised on maps and in sales brochures. To keep the peace, DEVCO built a minimal facility that became known as “Meeker’s Revenge” – hardly a fair or appropriate name for a man who had done so much to promote goodwill among residents, and between them and DEVCO. Marinette has been added to over the years, and Grand Center was opened in 2021 with additional club space, including auto restoration and a greenhouse. 

Getting rid of the “Berlin Wall” greatly expanded the advantages of living in Sun City.

Ed Allen is a Sun City historian.