Verne Cox Multipurpose Recreation Center
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| Type | Municipal Recreation Center |
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| Established | 1978 |
| Address | 5200 Burke Rd , , , Pasadena, TX 77504 29°37′55″N 95°10′55″W / 29.63182°N 95.18187°W |
| Nickname | Multipurpose Center or Verne Cox Center |
The Verne Cox Multipurpose Recreation Center is a recreation center located in Pasadena, Texas which provides recreational programs, events, and services for Pasadena’s youth and adults with cognitive or physical disabilities. The Verne Cox Center is a division of the Parks & Recreation Department of the City of Pasadena.
The 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) facility is fully accessible with a gymnasium, weight room, kitchen, two multipurpose activity rooms, bathrooms with showers and lockers, a swimming pool, and two wheelchair accessible softball fields. Facilities are specially designed for people with disabilities, and also, when appropriate, for people without disabilities. People can also socialize at the Center.
History
This facility has been in operation since 1988 funded by CDBG funds and funds committed by the City of Pasadena. Programs first began at the Sherwood Recreation Center in the 1970s by citizens with family members with disabilities. In 1978 the facility was rebuilt and renamed the Verne Cox Center, after a City Councilman, with the creation of the Therapeutics Division of the Parks and Recreation Department. When the current facility was built at 5200 Burke Rd in South Pasadena on the North-Western corner of the intersection of Burke Rd and Genoa-Red Bluff Rd.
The Verne Cox Multipurpose Recreation Center is home to the historic Texas International Shootout Wheelchair Basketball Tournament and has hosted the National Wheelchair Softball Tournament, National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, as well as United States Quad Rugby Association regional qualification tournaments and many Special Olympics individual sports competitions. The Texas International Shootout has hosted over 60 teams from around the world from countries such as Japan, Scotland, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Canada.
Programs and services are specially designed to achieve therapeutic benefits for youth and adults, ages 15 months to 57 years, with a broad spectrum of disabilities, including but not limited to: amputees, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brittle bone disease, autism, intellectual disabilities, and blindness. While the primary purpose of the facility is to serve the citizens of Pasadena, all programs, with the exception of the Afterschool Program, are open to all. Many participants and families travel regularly from as far away as Conroe, TX, Galveston, TX, and the Texas-Louisiana state border.
Programs offered
Programs include an Afterschool Program, Youth Sports, Fitness, Wheelchair sports, Ceramics, Cooking, Monthly Adult Dances, Family Movie Nights, Community Re-entry Outings, Summer Day Camps and Swim Lessons. While there is no charge for most programs, Summer Camps and occasional programs require fees. Programs are offered throughout the year, although may be limited to particular seasons or frequency. The facility's gymnasium and game room are open to registered participants to use freely when available and not in use for other programming.
The Verne Cox Center also works collaboratively with allied agencies and organizations such as the Special Olympics, Turning Point, Pasadena Independent School District, BlazeSports America, and is in the process of becoming associated with United States Paralympics as a Paralympic Sport Club.