National City residents receive new recreation services
Community members excited for re-opening of community pool and recreation center
NATIONAL CITY, Calif. – Inside National City’s newest recreation center is a basketball court frequented by locals. Having recently opened in January, Camacho Recreation Center has given those who step inside an opportunity to connect and compete with fellow members of their community.
“My friend told me about the open gyms there and invited me to play some basketball a couple weeks after it opened, and I have been going just about every other day ever since,” community member Christian Tavarez-Gomez, said.
Tavarez-Gomez said the gym’s opening has had a positive impact on his life as it has helped him create a weekly routine to get more exercise and do more physical activities.
“Having the option to go to one every night has really motivated me to be more social and physically fit, and I’ve met some great people while playing basketball there, so I’m definitely glad I started going,” Tavarez-Gomez said.
Communities rely on the facilities and services their cities provide to live active and healthy lifestyles. But in a city like National City, with a median household income that is only 60% of San Diego’s, those services become indispensable.
“We want our communities to have as many resources, facilities and parks as possible, so we can all receive the benefits that come with them to be happier and healthier,” Juanita Castaneda, the city’s recreation center supervisor, said.
“Public health is our number one priority, and it is our main job to listen to public opinion and do our best to give them what they want.”
National City’s newest center, located in Las Palmas Park, offers a variety of sports-related activities six days a week, including instructed basketball classes for children and teens and recreational open gyms to the public for basketball, soccer and volleyball. It is open 4-9 pm on weekdays, 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.
The National City Community Services division serves the city’s nearly 56,000 residents, working to engage the community and improve the “health and wellness of residents through safe and affordable services, programs, and special events,” according to the city’s website. To achieve that goal, National City has two recreation centers, a youth center and a decades-old community swimming pool that provide activities for all ages every day of the week all year.
With the upcoming summer reopening of newly-renovated Las Palmas community pool and the new Camacho Recreation Center having opened in January, National City residents have already seen increased access to new and improved government-provided facilities, services and activities so far in 2023 and will continue to do so. Community feedback regarding the city’s upgrades has been positive, the outcome city officials were hoping for.
“Having the option to go to [an open gym] every night has really motivated me to be more social and physically fit, and I’ve met some great people while playing basketball there, so I’m definitely glad I started going,” -Christian Tavarez-Gomez
Camacho Recreation Center is not the only new facility to come to National City this year. Las Palmas pool, which was built in 1958, is set to reopen this summer after the city closed it last February to perform a multimillion-dollar renovation project due to public complaints about the pool’s and deck’s degrading state in the years leading up to its closure.
It will be the same pool National City residents have been swimming in for 65 years, but it will be returning with some serious upgrades, featuring an expanded and re-plastered pool, a renovated deck and a new 6,900-square-foot wellness center with improved bathrooms and lockers.
Sweetwater High School senior Damian Hernandez said he is excited to see Las Palmas’ upgrades and get back to spending his summers hanging out by the pool, something he was not able to do last summer.
“These renovations are definitely well past due,” Hernandez said. “I have been going to Las Palmas my whole life, and I started noticing more as I got older just how old and gross it was. It was honestly sad to see because I never really noticed it as a kid. I’m glad they finally addressed it, and I’m curious to see what the difference will be like.”
“Las Palmas has been in this city for generations, so it is really important to the people who have lived here a long time,” Castaneda said. “A lot of time, effort and money were put into this project, and we are super excited to get to give the community an improved version of the pool, hopefully, just in time for summer.”
For those that are not as much into sports and exercise but still want social interaction, National City’s other recreational locations include the El Toyon Recreation Center and the Manuel Portillo Casa De Salud. These centers are more senior-friendly with a variety of events and activities, from dancing to social hours to video game tournaments.
Castaneda and the rest of the community services department encourages all members of the public to utilize the new and existing recreational resources available to everyone. To learn more about National City’s new and existing facilities and programs, visit nationalcityca.gov.