# a recreation center



## Vivemafille

In the U.S., communities or neighborhoods often have what we call a recreation center. This is a public place for people to play games and exercise. The place often has game rooms, a swimming pool, and a field to play soccer or baseball. Is there any equivalent in Russian? If so, how do you say it?


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## Budspok

центр досУга


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## rur1920

Sometimes: «Центр досуга и отдыха».
It might seem the reduplication is there only to make the title more convincing and more rhythmically viable (not too short in time), but actually досуг and отдых would mean slightly different things: the first means a hobby activity, the second means recreation from any activity that is necessary to mention. The difference may be that the first may have some end goals, and the second may not have them, though of course what is an end goal is a separate question (I want to play sometimes football, to be an amateur footballer — why is this not a goal?). Shortly speaking, on the safe side, they may include both words in the title.


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## Maroseika

If a recreation centre presumes only playing sport games and excersises, there is no exact equivalent in Russia (щк maybe стадион, but I think it is usually much larger than the local recreation centre in US). Центр досуга (и отдыха) usually means just leisure centre, often including educating activity for children.
For the recreation centre I'd suggest *оздоровительный центр* if it fouces on health and just *спортивный центр* if it is really only about sport and physical training.


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## Boyar

Vivemafille said:


> This is a public place for people to play games and exercise. The place often has game rooms, a swimming pool, and a field to play soccer or baseball.


центр активного отдыха


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## igusarov

Vivemafille said:


> In the U.S., communities or neighborhoods  often have what we call a recreation center. This is a public place for  people to play games and exercise. The place often has game rooms, a  swimming pool, and a field to play soccer or baseball.


What kind  of games did you have in mind? If you mean active sport games like  volleyball, tennis, water polo etc., then it sounds like "спортивный  комплекс", or its short form "спорткомплекс".

Wikipedia redirects  спорткомплекс to "стадион", but I believe it's not quite the same.  Стадион (if used alone, not in phrases like "водный стадион") is usually  understood as a big football field accompanied by athletic facilities.  While спорткомплекс is usually a building with lots of rooms for various  sports (wrestling, fencing, ...), a swimming pool, a rock climbing wall, a gym, etc.


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## Drink

igusarov said:


> What kind  of games did you have in mind? If you mean active sport games like  volleyball, tennis, water polo etc., then it sounds like "спортивный  комплекс", or its short form "спорткомплекс".



Usually both active sports like you mentioned (plus basketball and a gym for working out) and also less active sports like pool (i.e. billiards), ping pong, air hockey, foosball (i.e. table soccer), and maybe even chess and card games.


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## rur1920

Drink said:


> Usually both active sports like you mentioned (plus basketball and a gym for working out) and also less active sports like pool (i.e. billiards), ping pong, air hockey, foosball (i.e. table soccer), and maybe even chess and card games.


Like if one would need to combine uncombinable: «центр спортивного досуга»! Really, card games don't seem to fit in the spirit of either "спортивный центр" or the more so "оздоровительный центр", and I would not call playing them "active recreation" either. The spirit of the centre is one of recreation by using sports and other games; it seems a kind of a centre of socialising, socialising in the context of sports, of course (badminton, probably, right?); this combines both "центр досуга и отдыха" and "спортивный центр" into an unseparable whole. Anyway, the topic starter did not say what he or she wants — to advertise people into the centre? to make a Russian version of the centre's name? to put a fancy plate on the door for use of the locals? something else or some combination of what I mentioned? Maybe that information could help to give a reasonable advice, for otherwise finding different names by itself is mostly a meaningless exercise…


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## Drink

The thing is, there isn't even a set term for it in English. These "recreation centers" are usually just referred to by their name (like the YMCA).


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## Vivemafille

The context is a lesson about community services for native Russian speakers learning English as a Second Language in San Francisco.  The term "recreation center" is widely used in the U.S. In San Francisco, the city runs 25 recreation (or rec) centers offering a wide range of leisure activities. For example, the Eureka Valley Rec Center has a basketball court, a teen center, an auditorium, gym, and activity room, as well as a children's playground. The Mission Recreation Center has a gym for basketball, volleyball, and indoor-soccer. It also has exercise machines, such as treadmills and stair masters. In contrast, the Harvey Milk Rec Center focuses on the performing arts. http://sfrecpark.org/recreation-community-services/rec-facilities/


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## rur1920

Indeed, the range is wide. Since the focus (what I called a "spirit", i.e. a purpose) is on providing people with space to doing leisure activity together, for giving a short explanation I would go with Budspok's short phrase: центр досуга. But, of course, if those people have never seen the exact kind of San Francisco recreation centres, you will simply have to explain what kind of thing it is.


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## igusarov

Drink said:


> pool (i.e. billiards), air hockey, foosball (i.e.  table soccer), card games.


These activities usually belong to  "развлекательный центр".


Vivemafille said:


> basketball court, gym, volleyball, indoor-soccer, exercise  machines.


These activities belong to "спорткомплекс".


Vivemafille said:


> a  teen center, an auditorium, performing arts


These activities belong to "центр творчества" and "дом  культуры".

If you want a recognizable Russian equivalent, then you may call it "спортивно-досуговый центр" (example 1, example 2) or "дворец культуры и спорта".


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## Russianer

Vivemafille said:


> In the U.S., communities or neighborhoods often have what we call a recreation center. This is a public place for people to play games and exercise. The place often has game rooms, a swimming pool, and a field to play soccer or baseball. Is there any equivalent in Russian? If so, how do you say it?



Эквиваленты есть, конечно.. В зависимости от сервиса, есть фитнесс-клубы, есть СКК (спортивно-концертные комплексы), есть бассейны, есть санатории.. Именем "Recreation center" назовут дом отдыха.. Или даже курорт, если при нём есть парк и пляж.. Если включает и медицинское лечение, тогда назовут санаторием..


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## Sobakus

Russianer said:


> Эквиваленты есть, конечно.. В зависимости от сервиса, есть фитнесс-клубы, есть СКК (спортивно-концертные комплексы), есть бассейны, есть санатории.. Именем "Recreation center" назовут дом отдыха.. Или даже курорт, если при нём есть парк и пляж.. Если включает и медицинское лечение, тогда назовут санаторием..


Почитав немного эту тему можно убедиться, что recreation center – не загородный дом отдыха или курорт, куда едут отдыхать, а спортивно-развлекательный комплекс в черте города. Я вот, например, так делаю перед тем, как отвечать.


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## Enquiring Mind

> ... не загородный дом отдыха или курорт, куда едут отдыхать, а спортивно-развлекательный комплекс в черте города.


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## rur1920

Sobakus said:


> спортивно-развлекательный комплекс


That is _the_ cover-it-all name! (For Vivemafille).


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## Russianer

Sobakus said:


> Почитав немного эту тему можно убедиться, что recreation center – не загородный дом отдыха или курорт, куда едут отдыхать, а спортивно-развлекательный комплекс в черте города. Я вот, например, так делаю перед тем, как отвечать.



Ну, в русском языке нет понятия "спортивно-развлекательный комплекс", но есть понятие спортивно-концертный комплекс, или коротко : СКК..  Как например СКК Олимпийский в Москве, или Петербургский СКК.. Ибо там где проводятся спортивные мероприятия, там же проводятся и концерты..


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## rur1920

Russianer said:


> Ибо там где проводятся спортивные мероприятия, там же проводятся и концерты..


Ну вот. А в Америке там, где проводятся спортивные состязания (между любителями), там же предлагаются тем же самым людям и развлечения. То есть наименование, случайно высказанное Собакусом, вполне верно отражает суть дела.


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## Sobakus

СКК – это ну совсем уж другого рода заведение, это стадион-выставочный комплекс, в котором проводятся различные коммерческие мероприятия. Такие заведения по-английски называются _arena_. В СКК не ходят, чтобы заняться фитнессом или поиграть в боулинг.


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## Russianer

Sobakus said:


> В СКК не ходят, чтобы заняться фитнессом или поиграть в боулинг.



Заведения, где занимаются фитнессом и боулингом здесь в Петербурге зовутся фитнесс-клубами.. В Москве полагаю аналогично. )


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## Maroseika

Just for reference: фитнес (one c).


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## Russianer

Кстати ещё в России в ходу и термин ТРЦ: торгово-развлекательный центр..


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## rusita preciosa

Russianer said:


> Кстати ещё в России в ходу и термин ТРЦ: торгово-развлекательный центр..


That would just be a *mall* in AE. A place with several stores (department and others), restaurants + possibly a movie theater, a game arcade and sometimes things like skating rink,playground etc...


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