Group seeks to bring new life to Rea Park

The goal is to rehabilitate the 97-year-old edifice as well as bring a series of other improvements to the property, transforming it into an actual park and not just a golf course.

Mike Harding, president of the Friends of Rea Park, who worked in the park's pro shop when he was a teenager, said of the clubhouse, "The building won't last much longer. It hasn't had a rehabilitation — new electrical system, new plumbing, new heating and air, new windows and doors. There's some major repair that has to be done."

Harding's group has been working with architect Dan Sanders, who has been donating his time to bring the clubhouse structural integrity while maintaining its architectural integrity.

"We want it to look like 1925, a functional clubhouse that will service the public."

Mayor Duke Bennett also spoke at the event, noting that Rea Park is "special to a lot of people."

In an interview, Bennett said, "The agreement we've had with the Friends of Rea Park, is once they've raised enough private money, we'll match that and be able to do the project."

Part of the clubhouse's makeover will give it a space with a kitchen to rent to the public for private events, which will lure more than just golfers.

"We only have two indoor facilities in the parks department that are small and rented out about 90% of the time," said the mayor.

Bennett noted that, COVID-19, ironically, proved a boon to the golf course, which lured patrons seeking to get outside for an activity with built-in social distancing. The year COVID first appeared, 2020, brought record receipts to the park, with 2021 exceeding those numbers and 2022 on course to beat that.

"Three straight years of growth and golf," he said.

Earl Elliott, Terre Haute city councilman and Friends of Rea Park treasurer, has been golfing all his life since he was first introduced to the game at age 8; he calls it "the greatest game ever played."

He reported to those assembled Tuesday that the Friends of Rea Park has raised $589,000, including a $50,000 READI grant. The goal is to reach $2,120,000. Of all the people he has contacted for a donation, only three have said no, he said.

Following the clubhouse's upgrade, future goals include creating new tennis and pickle-ball courts, building a family park with playground equipment, a water splash pad and a picnic area, and establishing a walking/running/bicycle track that will encircle the park.

"We want people to enjoy coming out here to Rea Park," Harding said. "There's a lot of land here, just sitting next to a high school of 2,000 people, a retirement village and a hospital. We're going to do more with the land than we've ever done before."