At 9565 S. Highland Drive, the Alta Canyon Sports Center had stood for 41 years when Sandy City broke ground on its replacement. The building going up there now is the Sandy Community and Recreation Center. It was paid for by the city with a $3 million Salt Lake County grant and a $2 million gift from the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, and its total cost was $23.5 million, according to the Sandy Journal.
Sandy City has set the opening for December 14. The city's best price on an annual membership ends earlier, on November 30. So the first decision about this building comes before anyone outside the project has walked through it. For most households in Sandy, that decision falls in the next three weeks.
The calendar runs backward from the front doors
Read in order, the city's dates put the purchase first and the building second. Memberships went on sale online November 2, according to the October Sandy Parks & Recreation newsletter. A city alert dated October 28 attached a 20% discount to purchases made November 2 through 30 and named December 14 as the opening. The rest of the schedule comes from a council update. Citizen Portal reported that parks staff told the City Council on October 19 that the project was on schedule and within budget. They described a ribbon cutting on December 14, a community preview through January 3 and a full launch on January 4.
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 2 | Annual memberships go on sale online | Sandy Parks & Recreation newsletter |
| November 2 to 30 | 20% off annual memberships with code SRC20 | Sandy City alert, October 28 |
| December 14 | Opening and ribbon cutting | Sandy City alert; council update via Citizen Portal |
| December 14 to January 3 | Community preview | Council update via Citizen Portal |
| January 4 | Full launch | Council update via Citizen Portal |
When this post goes up on November 12, the discount window has run for ten days and has through November 30 left. The opening is 14 days after the window closes. The full launch on January 4 comes three weeks after the opening and five weeks after the discount ends.
Why December 14 arrives ahead of the original estimate
When the Sandy Journal covered the groundbreaking in December 2025, the facility was expected to be finished in January 2027. By fall 2026 the city had moved that date earlier. In her November Z News letter, dated October 13, Mayor Monica Zoltanski wrote that at the start of the year "we were watching construction move steadily forward," and that "before the year is over, we'll be opening the doors." The same letter carried the heading "Early opening planned for Sandy Recreation Center."
The earlier opening does two things to the schedule. It puts a ribbon cutting into the middle of December, a month that already has city events on it. It also makes the January 4 full launch the point when the building runs on its regular footing, after three weeks of preview. The mayor's letter places the center among the city's most visible projects of the year. The same letter mentions the Utah Mammoth practice facility and team headquarters near America First Field and a planned Utah Jazz practice facility.
Because of the early opening, the membership offer and the opening now fall close together on the calendar. Most of the offer window still comes before the building opens.
What the 20% covers, and what it leaves out
According to the city's October 28 alert, the discount applies to five annual membership types:
- Youth
- Adult
- Family
- Senior Single
- Senior Couple
To get the discount, enter the code SRC20 at checkout. The alert says it "applies to annual memberships only. Activities and programs are excluded." Classes and programs have their own prices. The October newsletter shows this. During construction, the city sold an October group fitness pass for $40 that covered unlimited group fitness classes for the month. Sales ran September 21 through October 2, and the city described October as "the last month before we move back to the new center." That pass was for classes. It was not a membership.
The alert sends readers to the city's membership page to learn more, and the city's newsletter points to the Sandy Recreation Center registration site for online purchases. A household choosing between Family and two Adult memberships, or between Senior Single and Senior Couple, can compare the options there.
What a member is paying for
Anyone who buys before November 30 is relying on the city's description of the building and has not yet seen it. The October 28 alert lists these features:
- A gymnasium and an indoor turf field
- An indoor walking track
- Group fitness space
- Cardio equipment, free weights and weight machines
- A community room and outdoor patio areas
- A seasonal outdoor pool
The Sandy Journal's groundbreaking report also lists pickleball courts and more class space than Alta Canyon had. It describes the community room as a space for meetings, workshops, events, socials and classes. The same 2025 report said the city would reopen the outdoor pool next door once the new center was complete. The city's October alert now lists the outdoor pool as a seasonal feature of the new center.
Residents who want to see the layout before December 14 can watch a virtual walkthrough of the concept. The Sandy Journal pointed readers to the city's facility information page for it. At the groundbreaking, the Sandy Journal reported that VCBO architects and Layton Construction would lead the design and construction, working from feedback from residents at town halls and public hearings.
The building the city described at groundbreaking
At the groundbreaking, Mayor Zoltanski described what the city had set out to build. She spoke about scale and modest design more than about any single feature. The Sandy Journal reported her words:
"It's going to be a gathering space that's reflective of our Sandy values, not extravagant, but practical and welcoming, and true to who we are as a community. This building that you will see is the product of decades of planning."
In the same report she said the facility is meant for ages "1 to 100," and that the city wanted a center "we could be proud of, and live within our means." These goals match the amenity list. It has a walking track and weight machines, a turf field and a community room, and a pool that runs in summer. Those spaces cover a wide range of uses. Few of them are specialty facilities.
The grant money shows who else backed the project. Salt Lake County's $3 million came through its Tourism, Recreation, Culture and Convention grant program. The Miller Family Foundation gave $2 million, and Gail Miller attended the groundbreaking for the foundation. The Sandy Journal reported that the mayor counted the center as the city's fourth major capital project dedicated in 2025. The other three were the wetlands at Grandpa's Pond, the public works fleet maintenance facility and Fire Station 31.
How December fills in around the opening
Sandy's Light Up the Cairns is listed for Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 10000 Centennial Parkway. The Visit Salt Lake event listing includes Santa, Mayor Zoltanski, holiday vendors, and music from Hale Centre Theatre's Broadway Stars and Canyons School District choirs. The tree lighting comes three days after the membership discount ends, and the recreation center opens 11 days after that.
That gives Sandy households four dates to plan around between now and early January:
- November 30. Last day to buy a discounted annual membership with code SRC20.
- December 3. Light Up the Cairns at City Hall, 5 to 7:30 p.m.
- December 14. The Sandy Recreation Center opens on Highland Drive.
- January 4. Full launch, after the community preview that runs through January 3.
The city's Sandy Recreation Center page is counting down to the grand opening event.
A new civic building at the corner of a neighborhood can change how a nearby home is described to buyers. Sometimes it changes the price too. If you live near Highland Drive and want to know where your home stands as the center opens, Secrist Team can prepare a Free Home Valuation that reflects the current market in your part of Sandy.
