Teton Valley has two indoor recreation projects close enough to touch. A publicly owned climbing gym in the Driggs City Center has a budget, vendor bids and draft membership prices. An indoor sports center west of town already has its building, a former potato warehouse. Neither can open this winter. Money and demand aren't the problem. Both projects are waiting on approvals, and the next few months are a run of meetings and inspections.
The Empty Room at the Driggs City Center
The nonprofit Teton Rock Gym ran its last day at the city-owned Driggs City Center on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The Driggs City Council had voted 3-1 on May 19 to end the gym's lease and gave it 30 days to leave. The gym had been renting below market rate. It had also been a holdover tenant since its lease ran out, and the Jackson Hole News&Guide reported that the lease became the focus of a long dispute among gym leadership, some members and the city. The disagreement started with the competition team and grew to include route-setting, hours and governance.
The gym's closing announcement said recurring memberships would be canceled and that prepaid memberships and recent punch passes could qualify for prorated refunds. It said the organization was winding down at the city site and exploring future possibilities. It named no new location.
By September the space was unused, and Teton Valley News reported that all the walls and equipment had been removed. So the space is an empty shell, and that makes the next proposal mostly a question of governance.
A Public Gym, Already Priced
Earlier this year the Teton Valley Parks and Recreation District formed a temporary volunteer group, the Climbing Gym Advisory Committee, to study a replacement the district would own and run in the same City Center space. The committee was given a $350,000 budget and asked to aim for a gym that eventually covers its own costs.
The committee surveyed the community. Respondents ranked top-rope and lead climbing first, along with bouldering, training boards, auto-belays and youth programs. They also asked for 24-hour access, frequent route changes and financial assistance. One more request explains a lot about the plan: the gym's infrastructure should be movable if a new facility is ever built elsewhere in the valley. The City Center version is built so it can be taken apart and moved.
The committee asked four climbing-gym builders for bids, and many came in under the $350,000 cap. When the committee presented on Sept. 9, the board didn't vote. Members instead asked for revised numbers to test whether the gym could still work while offering substantial financial assistance. District 2 director John Beller said at the time that his "gut feel" was the discussion "seemed more positive than negative."
The committee answered with an Oct. 2, 2026 addendum. These are its planning figures:
| Item in the Oct. 2 addendum | Figure |
|---|---|
| Resident monthly membership | $50 |
| Community Access monthly membership, open to any resident | $25 |
| Nonresident monthly membership | $100 |
| Estimated Phase I capital cost | About $347,700 |
| Allocation | $350,000 |
| Projected monthly break-even | Partway through Year 3 |
The addendum calls the rates planning averages and says management would set final prices. The capital estimate leaves about $2,300 under the cap, so the plan has almost no room for cost overruns.
The Potato Warehouse West of Town
The second project is private and further along physically. Jason and Sidney Wilcox are turning a former potato warehouse at 2540 South 5000 West into Smash Recreation Center, with indoor soccer, batting cages, golf driving lanes, sprinting lanes and a strength-and-conditioning gym. Teton Valley News reported that the Wilcoxes started the project after making long winter drives . The paper said valley families now go to Rexburg or Idaho Falls for this kind of facility.
Smash had planned to open Sept. 4. It hit a gap in the county code first. The property is zoned RA-35, which allows an outdoor recreational facility, and the county's Land Development Code had no listing for indoor recreation. Planning Administrator Joshua Chase found the facility "not sufficiently similar to an Outdoor Recreation Field." The Wilcoxes appealed, and on Sept. 22 the planning commission split 3-3 and sent the matter on without a formal ruling.
On Sept. 28, the Teton County commissioners heard the appeal and overturned that determination. The county's contract attorney had warned them about acting on it. The Valley Signal's account quotes Commissioner Ron James from earlier that afternoon:
"We're stifling a business over a word that was left out of an ordinance. If they had put the word indoor in there… this would be a moot point."
Commissioner Dan Powers's motion said the site-specific use was lower intensity than the outdoor uses the category already allows. It also said the ruling "does not eliminate the need for the indoor use to meet all building, fire or other applicable code requirements." In a Sept. 30 update, Teton Valley News reported the commissioners' explanation of the procedure: they treated the planning commission's deadlock as a denial, and that gave the Wilcoxes the right to appeal to the board.
The zoning vote didn't open the doors. County staff found no building permit on file, so the building has no certificate of occupancy. It needs one from the county building official, along with sign-off from the fire marshal. Kevin Brown, fire marshal for Teton County Fire & Rescue, told the Signal the next step would be hiring a licensed architect. The architect would review occupant load, exiting, fire-resistive materials and fire suppression, because Idaho law requires that review when a building's occupancy moves to a higher hazard classification. His department's early research found "it is possible that the building would require some work to be code compliant."
The Approvals Still Ahead, in Order
The two projects are on separate tracks, but they share a calendar. These are the next steps as reported through Oct. 10:
- Tuesday, Oct. 13. The parks district board's agenda lists "Climbing Gym Update (Action)." This is the first chance for a vote since the September discussion.
- Driggs City Council, date not set. If the district board approves the gym, the proposal goes to the council next. Neither body had scheduled that meeting, and the public can comment at board meetings and before the proposal reaches the council.
- Smash's stamped plans, date not set. The Valley Signal named this as the thing to watch: whether the Wilcoxes file architect-stamped plans with the county building official.
- December. Commissioners told Chase to keep drafting a code amendment that adds indoor recreation as a use. Chair Brad Wolfe said Chase expected to finish by December. Chase said about three other people had approached the county with indoor recreation proposals.
- Late 2026. If the board and the council both approve, the climbing gym's design would be finished.
- Late spring 2027. The committee's draft plan aims to have the climbing gym open by then.
The December code amendment matters beyond Smash. The commissioners' Sept. 28 ruling covered one building. Chase said before the vote that it was "not really clear" whether the board was deciding one site or deciding that indoor recreation fits the category countywide. Until the code says "indoor," every other indoor proposal in the unincorporated county faces the same question Smash did.
What Is Actually Open This Winter
With the climbing room empty and Smash still waiting on its building review, this winter's options in and near Driggs are mostly outdoors.
Grand Targhee lists Friday, Nov. 20, 2026, as opening day for the 2026–27 season. Closer to Main Street, Teton Valley Trails and Pathways describes the Driggs Winter Trails as three loops totaling about 6 km, groomed for skate and classic skiing on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule. The most recent grooming report on that page is from Mar. 25, 2026, so this season's grooming hasn't started yet.
The nearest ice is in Victor. The Teton Valley Foundation describes Kotler Ice Arena as a covered outdoor rink that is open to the public and runs hockey and other programs. Its posted season still reads October 2025 through March 2026, and no 2026–27 schedule had been posted. Teton Valley Aquatics runs a summer pool program at Driggs City Park from June through August, and its year-round pool is still a proposal.
The climbing gym's earliest possible date depends on Tuesday's board meeting. Smash's depends on an architect's plans reaching the county building official.
At Harland Brothers Real Estate, we track Teton Valley's land-use decisions closely because they shape daily life here as much as any listing does. If you'd like to talk about how county zoning, building review or a pending code amendment could affect a property you own or are considering in the valley, we're glad to go through it with you. Work With Us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
