Recreation facilities will no longer serve as warming/cooling centers; Community Building access limited to scheduled programs 

As part of city-wide efforts to reduce costs for 2026, the Parks, Recreation and Culture department is adjusting community access to City recreation facilities.

Beginning January 1, 2026, the Community Building will be open only for enrollment-based programming and reservations – meaning community members will only be able to enter the Community Building when they are enrolled in a program taking place there or have a rental reservation for the facility. There will no longer be free-play gym hours or open access at the Community Building.

Beginning January 5, 2026, the City will require memberships, day passes or program registration to access the other three recreation facilities: East Lawrence Recreation Center, Holcom Park Recreation Center and Sports Pavilion Lawrence. More information on memberships will be available later this week.

Because access to recreation facilities is changing, they will no longer serve as warming or cooling centers during extreme weather. Emergency shelter during severe weather will be directed through the community’s established sheltering system, which is designed for this purpose.

Lawrence Community Shelter (LCS) is funded to operate all inclement-weather sheltering for Lawrence and Douglas County. The City’s Homeless Response Team (HRT) supports LCS by helping connect people to shelter and coordinating information during severe weather.

Anyone needing shelter can contact Lawrence Community Shelter at (785) 832-8864.

Media Contact: City Communications, citycommunications@lawrenceks.gov

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