The Prairie Lakes Wellness Center will offer activities for all ages. The open concept space will include a walking track, leisure pool, racquet ball courts, basketball courts, expanded cardio and weight area, larger fitness class areas, and a social area with fireplaces for members. Four full-size courts and the eight-lane pool will also host competitive events and spectators. Participants will have access to these facilities through a separate entrance.
”Prairie Lakes believes this facility is important and will really promote our community,” said Jim Redlinger, Chairman of the Prairie Lakes Board of Directors. “We are proud to support Watertown and appreciate the support the community provides to our growing health care system.”
The Prairie Lakes Healthcare System Board of Directors agreed to finalize a naming rights transaction for the Watertown Community Center in April 2016. The parties agreed to a purchase price of $2.2 million for a term of 25-years. Five annual payments will be made in the first five years of the term to complete the transaction. The funds will be used by the City to support capital costs of the center. Prairie Lakes will receive sponsorship benefits.
“Prairie Lakes Healthcare System has been a long-standing partner to the Watertown community, providing funds to initiatives that support a healthy population,” said Steve Thorson, Mayor of Watertown. “The City Council and I are so pleased to have been able to work out an agreement with Watertown’s regional health care provider, to help fund a facility that will serve the recreational and fitness needs of our citizens for decades to come. The partnership between the City of Watertown and Prairie Lakes Health System is a testament to our community and the important role Prairie Lakes plays in it, as well as the great relationship that has been nurtured over many years between Prairie Lakes and its patients. Indeed, if you were to look around town, you would quickly see the many areas in which Prairie Lakes takes a leadership role, so it should come as no surprise that they would be a committed partner with the City of Watertown on this important project, geared towards improving the health, fitness, and quality of life of our community! Thank you Prairie Lakes. I firmly believe this partnership between our residents and their hospital will only become stronger as we build this relationship in the same way we have built this excellent facility—together, as a community.”
About Prairie Lakes Healthcare System
Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is a leader in regional healthcare for northeastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Caring for a ten-county service area of 87,000 people, the health professionals of Prairie Lakes are dedicated to excellence. That commitment has made Prairie Lakes one of the most innovative rural healthcare systems in the nation and was named a Top 20 Rural Community Hospital in 2016 by the National Rural Health Association.