WESLACO, Texas - Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes says a new Wellness & Activity Center is coming to Weslaco and it will be unique for the Mid-Valley area.
“You're going to see this as an accessible type of recreation center for our area, which has, in my estimation, from the county side, never existed here before. The Mid-Valley really doesn't have a place where kids and adults can congregate and be active and have access to full gymnasiums, basketball courts, volleyball courts, pickleball courts, batting cages, a golf simulator, a weight room, a studio, a classroom, etc.,” Fuentes said.
“We will have classrooms where we can provide adult education and an extension of education, perhaps in collaboration a university or a college. We're looking forward to that type of access.”
The location of the 26,000 square foot facility will be 1901 N. Bridge Ave., Weslaco. The projected cost is $7.5 million, with all the money coming from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Fuentes said.
“We're looking forward to a place where kids can gather on weekends and host tournaments and be active and engaged. There are a whole lot of things that our Wellness & Activity Center is going to be affording to our Mid Valley community that really has never existed before,” Fuentes said.
“We are going to have this primarily for our Hidalgo County and drainage district employees. This is going to be in addition to their wellness program. But it's also going to be available to the general public at certain hours. It's going to have, again, access to basketball gyms and for kids to be able to host tournaments and be active and engaged. So I'm really excited about that kind of opportunity for us.”
Fuentes said the terms of the ARPA monies allowed him to invest in any number of areas. But his first choice was health and wellness, he explained.
Asked when the opening date will be, Fuentes said. “Well, we’re hoping that this will finish sometime in mid-January of 2026, and we'll hopefully have some sort of a grand opening ribbon cutting.”
Fuentes made his comments in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Sam’s Club coming to Weslaco. In addition to discussing the importance of Weslaco landing a Sam’s Club, Fuentes also spoke about the 16-mile hike and bike trail his team is building for Precinct One residents.
“We're in the process right now of paving another three miles in the city of Donna. We're going to have to work backwards a little bit and come back one more mile to connect it to what exists already in city of Weslaco. But, when it's all said and done, in that little strip, we'll have about seven miles of hike and bike trail that are complete, so would be about halfway on our journey to the city of San Juan and connecting to the Precinct 2 trail.”
Here is a video recording of the interview with Commissioner Fuentes:
