Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan + Community Indoor Recreation Center

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An aerial view of Civic Stadium with the Sportsplex and Sehome Hill in the background

See the final plan and share your feedback!

We’re ready to share our plans for the future of recreation at Civic Athletic Complex. With a strong focus on expanded indoor recreation options, plus upgrades to existing fields and sports facilities, see how we’re reimagining Bellingham’s premier recreation hub.


Key Features of the Plan

  • North end: We’re reserving space for the potential to build a replacement school for Carl Cozier elementary. New lighted and turfed baseball/softball and multi-use fields will create access to stellar amenities for field sports for both school and community use.
  • South end: The south end of the complex will include a new community indoor recreation center – with expanded aquatics, gym space, fitness studios, and flexible meeting spaces – to deliver more opportunities to recreate and exercise out of the rain. The exact design of the community center isn’t part of this plan, but you can weigh in below on priorities that will drive the general size and shape it takes.
  • Improvements and expansion of other amenities: Civic Stadium, Joe Martin Field, and forested trails will also receive much-needed upgrades. Plus, north of the Sportsplex, we’re holding space to expand that building or add a fieldhouse for more space for indoor sports.
  • Better mobility for everyone: We’ll create better connections and easier navigation with a “Civic Promenade” – a pedestrian-friendly corridor linking the whole campus together. Parking improvements, gateway roundabouts, plazas, and more green space will welcome visitors, improving flow throughout the site.

See slides from the Dec. 10 open house presentation, and read the full Master Plan final draft.


It's time to share your feedback on the final plan.

From Dec.10-31, 2025, we’re seeking your input on priorities for the community indoor recreation center. We’ve heard many ideas about what a community center should include, and your feedback will help determine what we focus on. Take the survey to:

  • Pick your top aquatics and other indoor recreation wants.
  • Tell us what non-recreation things we should make space for.
  • Give us feedback on how to make this an accessible space where you, your family, and your neighbors will feel welcome.
>> Take the survey



Next steps


  • The Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan will be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board in January 2026 before being presented to the City Council for adoption in February 2026.
  • We’ll take this feedback into consideration as we develop a conceptual design for the community recreation center, which we will share in early spring 2026.


Background

We are updating the Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan - the plan that summarizes the long-term vision and guides further development for our community's central recreational complex.

During this update, we are examining areas that can be developed for current and evolving uses. The updated Master Plan will guide our strategic planning to equitably meet future community needs.

In addition to maintaining and upgrading facilities, we are factoring two new ideas into this Master Plan update.

  • Community recreation center: Many community members have said they want more space for indoor recreation, and many people have also expressed a desire for a community center. Our plans will factor in expanded facilities for more aquatic and other indoor recreation, and more community gathering spaces. The design of a community recreation center building is outside the scope of the Master Plan update, but we will be reserving space for a future development.

See the final plan and share your feedback!

We’re ready to share our plans for the future of recreation at Civic Athletic Complex. With a strong focus on expanded indoor recreation options, plus upgrades to existing fields and sports facilities, see how we’re reimagining Bellingham’s premier recreation hub.


Key Features of the Plan

  • North end: We’re reserving space for the potential to build a replacement school for Carl Cozier elementary. New lighted and turfed baseball/softball and multi-use fields will create access to stellar amenities for field sports for both school and community use.
  • South end: The south end of the complex will include a new community indoor recreation center – with expanded aquatics, gym space, fitness studios, and flexible meeting spaces – to deliver more opportunities to recreate and exercise out of the rain. The exact design of the community center isn’t part of this plan, but you can weigh in below on priorities that will drive the general size and shape it takes.
  • Improvements and expansion of other amenities: Civic Stadium, Joe Martin Field, and forested trails will also receive much-needed upgrades. Plus, north of the Sportsplex, we’re holding space to expand that building or add a fieldhouse for more space for indoor sports.
  • Better mobility for everyone: We’ll create better connections and easier navigation with a “Civic Promenade” – a pedestrian-friendly corridor linking the whole campus together. Parking improvements, gateway roundabouts, plazas, and more green space will welcome visitors, improving flow throughout the site.

See slides from the Dec. 10 open house presentation, and read the full Master Plan final draft.


It's time to share your feedback on the final plan.

From Dec.10-31, 2025, we’re seeking your input on priorities for the community indoor recreation center. We’ve heard many ideas about what a community center should include, and your feedback will help determine what we focus on. Take the survey to:

  • Pick your top aquatics and other indoor recreation wants.
  • Tell us what non-recreation things we should make space for.
  • Give us feedback on how to make this an accessible space where you, your family, and your neighbors will feel welcome.
>> Take the survey



Next steps


  • The Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan will be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board in January 2026 before being presented to the City Council for adoption in February 2026.
  • We’ll take this feedback into consideration as we develop a conceptual design for the community recreation center, which we will share in early spring 2026.


Background

We are updating the Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan - the plan that summarizes the long-term vision and guides further development for our community's central recreational complex.

During this update, we are examining areas that can be developed for current and evolving uses. The updated Master Plan will guide our strategic planning to equitably meet future community needs.

In addition to maintaining and upgrading facilities, we are factoring two new ideas into this Master Plan update.

  • Community recreation center: Many community members have said they want more space for indoor recreation, and many people have also expressed a desire for a community center. Our plans will factor in expanded facilities for more aquatic and other indoor recreation, and more community gathering spaces. The design of a community recreation center building is outside the scope of the Master Plan update, but we will be reserving space for a future development.

  • More Details about Emerging Site Plan

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    Based on community feedback, we are moving forward with a site plan for Civic Athletic Complex in which the new elementary school would be built at the corner of Fraser and Puget Streets and expanded or new community recreation facilities could be built at the corner of Lincoln Street and Lakeway Drive. This scenario was the clear favorite in our surveys.

    With this site plan, we also intend to create a new interpretive wetland park and new multiuse fields for softball, baseball, soccer and rugby at the north end of the Complex. It also creates opportunities for a lighted trail through the forested area and space to expand the Sportsplex with more sheets of ice and/or indoor soccer fields.

    View our slideshow summary to find more details about this, as well as our next steps

  • Open House Presentation

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    We hosted a public house on Nov. 6 to get feedback on four scenarios for development at Civic. You can watch the presentation here and get a closer look at the slides.


  • Phase 1 video update

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    Watch our video update about the work we did in the first phase of this project. This video also has background information about the locations we evaluated for high-intensity development.


Page last updated: 16 Dec 2025, 12:40 PM