Proposed Big Horn Rec Center Asks for Community Support

On Tuesday, December 2nd at 9:00 a.m., the Sheridan County Board of County Commissioners will vote on whether to approve the Big Horn Recreation & Early Learning Center Conditional Use Permit. After a lot of planning, and with funding nearly in place, this vote will determine whether the facility moves forward.

The Commissioners need to see and hear that the community truly supports this project. A large turnout will send a clear message that Big Horn wants and needs this facility. The Sheridan County School District #1 Recreation District, is asking for help in sending this message. Those wishing to support the center can attend the meeting which will be held in Room 220, on second floor at the Sheridan County Courthouse, and if possible give a brief public comment as well.

If you can not attend, please send a brief email of support if you haven’t already. Just 2-3 sentences is all that’s needed. Email: ahauber@sheridancountywy.gov.It will be shared with the commissioners.

Please encourage others to get involved teachers, students, parents, alumni, business owners – every voice helps.

This project will provide year-round gym space, basketball and pickle ball courts, turf, fitness area, walking track access, and purpose-built early childhood classrooms. It will strengthen our schools, support our kids, and serve our community for decades.

Overview of the Proposed Big Horn Recreation & Early Learning Center – The project is a ~31,000 sq. ft. dual use community recreation and early learning center planned for Big Horn. The facility will sit on land owned by Sheridan County School District #1 adjacent to the Big Horn School campus, though it will not be a school district building. Upon completion, it will be owned by Sheridan County School DIstrict #1 Recreation District, a public mill-levy-funded entity. The center will serve the broader communities of Big Horn, the Powder Horn, and southwestern Sheridan County. The facility will be operated by either a non-profit or contracted to a qualified 3rd party operator.

The classrooms will be operated by SCSD#1, whose preschool program has outgrown its temporary space inside Big Horn Elementary/Middle School and now serves 64 children with full waitlists.

Big Horn currently does not have any public indoor recreation space. The YMCA is 20 minutes away, and private options are limited and not kid-focused. Many in the Big Horn area lack close access to fitness, indoor recreation, and youth sports facilities, especially on Fridays when Big Horn School is closed as part of its four-day week and also during the harsh winter months.

The recreation center will provide year-round safe, accessible space for youth and school sports, adult fitness, seniors, and community events.

Additionally, despite rapid growth in our community, Big Horn lacks any purpose-built early childhood education space, forcing preschool programs to borrow rooms in the elementary and middle school buildings – spaces that were never designed for young learners and are increasingly strained as K–12 enrollment rises.

Preschool enrollment has grown from just 7 children in 2012 to 64 today, with full classrooms and wait lists every year, reflecting both population growth and increasing demand from dual-working-parent households. Integrating four dedicated early childhood classrooms into the new recreation center provides a long-term, stable home for these programs while ensuring age-appropriate environments that support cognitive, social, and emotional development.

This investment relieves pressure on the school, protects the future of preschool access in Big Horn, and meets a critical need for families who rely on high-quality early learning opportunities to prepare their children for kindergarten and long-term academic success.

According to Jeremy Smith (SCSD#1 Business Manager) a project similar to this was proposed after the old bus barn on WY-335 used by SCSD#1 burned down in 2012. The project didn’t move forward because the County Commission didn’t like the proposed location, stating that while they supported the concept, it needed to be built near the Big Horn schools.

In 2021 the Big Horn Baseball Club – who raised funds and built the baseball/softball field and little guy football field on the Big Horn campus – began recognizing the needs for an indoor facility for the community. In the spring of 2021 the Big Horn Baseball Club initiated discussions with SCSD#1 leadership about interest in reviving the project – getting positive feedback. In early 2025 a major donor learned of the project which helped to get serious momentum behind the project.

Since early 2025, the Big Horn Baseball Club has worked with SCSD#1 (land owner and preschool operator), SCSD#1 Recreation District (eventual facility owner), architects, engineers, and state and county agencies to bring the proposal to its current stage.

The building is adjacent to campus for ease of access, but it is not a school facility. SCSD#1 will continue to own the land that the facility will sit on. The only operational connection is that SCSD#1 will have free access to operate the early childhood classrooms – an arrangement that strengthens long-term preschool access while opening up instructional space for existing K-12 buildings that currently house the pre-school program.

For more intormation go to https://bighornrec.org/

Photos are artist’s rendering of the proposed center.