Rio Rancho opens recreational community center ‘The Hub’

RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Rio Rancho’s Enchanted Hills is growing fast, and that’s why the city is opening the doors to a new community center called “The Hub.” 

The Hub opened Wednesday, and it has multiple pickleball courts, a public library, and meeting rooms. 

The main goal for the courts is pickleball, but the space can quickly be transformed.

“Like town halls, weddings, graduations – whatever. I mean, the sky’s the limit on how we can potentially use this space,” said Mayor Gregg Hull. “As you can see, the nets they just roll out of the way. The walls will come down.”

From pickleball to books, The Hub is bringing more access to recreational options closer to folks in the fast-growing area. 

“So it’ll be really convenient for the folks that live on this side of town. They can swing in here pick up their books and whatever else – their movies, their music, their audiobooks,” said Rio Rancho Director of Library And Information Services Jason Shoup.

And, the library has more than just books to check out – we’re talking about a library of things, too. 

“We have pickleball rackets you can check out. We have a metal detector, we have telescopes, we’re about to add board games and a bunch of other stuff,” said Shoup.  

This library branch will serve more than half of Rio Rancho’s population that lives on the north side of town. With a convenient location, right off 528, it’s not just residents the city hopes The Hub will attract.

“Well, obviously having facilities like this really attracts a lot of development. It attracts new stores. It attracts a lot of different things. Enchanted Hills is the emerging hub in this area,” said Hull.  

The grand opening for The Hub is set for June 17.