Who gets the most time on Montana's largest continuous hardwood floor this winter? Going by the posted schedule, a resident with $5, a pickleball paddle and a free Tuesday morning at 9 does better than most.
The Courts Complex at Amend Recreation Campus, or ARC, sits at 715 Commerce Way. It opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting on July 21, KULR reported. This is its first cold season, and the cold months are when an indoor court earns its keep. The building runs on a clear rhythm. Open play happens during weekday business hours, booked courts take over after 5 p.m., and tournaments fill the weekends. Once you know that rhythm, you can plan a winter around it.
A tournament venue with community hours built in
The schedule comes from the way the building was paid for. In 2023, Billings voters rejected a $143 million bond that would have funded a multi-sport facility, a new ice arena and park upgrades. Dick Zier of the South Billings Urban Renewal Association told KTVQ that "the timing was kind of bad. Everybody had just got their new tax bill."
Zier then went back to the City Council with a smaller indoor recreation idea. In the same KTVQ report, he said the city set three rules: "There could be no bond, there could be no levy, and there needed to be a public-private partnership." The courts building was funded through a city-run Tax Increment Financing district. Signal Peak Energy led the private side as a donor for the ice arena next door.
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Kory Thomson described the dual purpose to KTVQ. He called it "a fantastic venue for not only weekend tournaments, but also community recreation." The weekly schedule follows that sentence closely.
The floor itself is built for tournaments. KTVQ put the building at 56,980 square feet. Its hardwood floor runs more than 48,000 square feet without a break, and the City calls it the largest continuous hardwood floor in Montana. The facility map lists four full-size high-school and collegiate basketball courts, eight youth basketball courts, eight regulation volleyball courts and 12 pickleball courts. It also shows a 300-meter indoor walking track and five outdoor half-court basketball courts. The Parks Department told KULR the floor is one level below NBA-grade.
The week, block by block
The ARC schedule page splits each week into three blocks:
- Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.: general business hours, with open play at the times posted on the calendar.
- Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: court rental hours.
- Saturday and Sunday: scheduled tournaments and events only.
The daytime block has a pattern of its own. On the weekdays posted for late September and early October, the walking track was free from 8 to 9 a.m., and open pickup pickleball ran from 9 to 11 a.m.
Drop-in rates are $5 for adults 18 to 54, $4 for seniors 55 and up, and $3 for ages 5 to 17. Children 4 and under get in free. An 11-visit punch pass costs $50, $40 or $30 in those same three tiers, so the eleventh visit is effectively free.
The page also sets expectations plainly. Open play is first come, first served, space is limited, and rentals or events can close parts of the floor. Outside the posted open-play times, space is by reservation only. The City asks visitors to call ahead and check the calendar. The number is (406) 869-3996. Services such as customer service and concessions may be reduced when the center is short on staff.
After 5 p.m., you need a team or a reservation
For anyone who works a standard day, the evening block is the obvious time to play. Evenings at ARC run on reservations. Court rentals cost $40 an hour for a youth court and $80 an hour for a high-school or collegiate court. An outdoor half-court costs $25 an hour. Rentals come in one-hour blocks on weeknights from 5 to 10 p.m., and you can book anywhere from 14 days to 24 hours ahead.
Split among friends, the numbers are friendlier than they look. Ten players sharing an $80 full court pay $8 each for an hour. That's $3 more than a daytime drop-in, and the court is yours alone.
Leagues are the other way in. An adult 3-on-3 indoor basketball league already plays Tuesdays, running from September 22 through November 17, 2026, with a listed fee of $150. The Parks & Recreation catalog also lists coed volleyball from February 16 to April 13, 2027, and coed dodgeball from March 1 to April 5, 2027.
Weekends are where tournaments link back to resident play. The inaugural KOA Kickoff Volleyball Tournament on December 5 and 6 is open to adults 18 and up. It has women's, coed recreational and coed competitive divisions, a $200 entry fee per team and a four-game guarantee. Winning teams get championship T-shirts and free entry into the Billings Parks & Recreation Winter League. So one weekend event can pay a team's way into a whole season of evening games.
Programs are moving into the building too. The City's ARC homepage says Love Serving Autism has moved to the facility, with programs for ages 5 to 9 and 10 to 17.
Three ways to fit ARC into a winter week
Each kind of schedule meets the building at a different door.
| If your weekday looks like... | Your way onto the floor | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible mornings, retired or semi-retired | Free walking track 8 to 9 a.m., then open pickleball 9 to 11 a.m. | Track free, then $4 drop-in for 55+ or $40 for 11 visits |
| Desk job, 8 to 5 | A shared weeknight court rental, a league team or a tournament roster | $40 to $80 per court-hour, a $150 3-on-3 league fee, $200 per KOA team |
| Family with young kids | Daytime drop-in on school breaks, plus weekend events | $3 per child 5 to 17, free for 4 and under |
The first row gets the most from the building for the least money. The second row usually needs a group text and a calendar reminder 14 days out. Families with young kids get the most from the weekend events and from the free admission for the youngest children.
Next door, the ice runs on its own calendar
The Courts Complex shares Amend Park with the Signal Peak Energy Arena. The arena is run by the Yellowstone Ice Foundation and has two indoor sheets of ice. Westmoreland Ice is the main rink, with seating for 2,000 spectators. The Larson rink is a year-round practice sheet. The arena hosts hockey, figure skating, curling, public skating and community events.
Public skate prices are listed as follows:
- $13 for adults and $10 for youth ages 6 to 17
- $20 for a parent plus a child, or $35 for a family of four
- $9 for seniors 65 and up, and free for kids five and under
- $7 for veterans, active military and first responders
- $5 for skate rental and $10 for a skate aid
The arena is cashless. It publishes public skate sessions on a live 90-day rink schedule rather than set weekly hours, so check the schedule before you drive over. It also offers weekly Learn to Skate group classes for ages four and up, including classes for adults.
The two buildings' prices invite a comparison. A family of four that skates together pays $35, before any rentals. Next door, the same family pays $16 for a daytime drop-in if both kids are 5 to 17, and less if one is 4 or under. With the two schedules side by side, a household can plan a cheap weekday court visit and a weekend skate in the same trip to Commerce Way.
The dates between now and New Year's
- Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: 2026 Make A Difference Day at ARC. It's free and open to the public, with food trucks, games, prizes and local nonprofits looking for volunteers. The facility calendar also lists a Special Olympics Regional Basketball Tournament all day that Saturday. It's an easy weekend look at a building most people only see on weekdays.
- November 3 to 5: An Indoor Intro to Pickleball Bootcamp for adults costs $50. It's a quick start for anyone who wants to join the 9 a.m. open play.
- Thanksgiving week: ARC is closed on Thanksgiving Day, and Black Friday hours are still listed as TBD.
- December 5 and 6: The KOA Kickoff Volleyball Tournament, the route into the Winter League.
- Christmas Day and New Year's Day: ARC is closed. Hours for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are still TBD.
Since the bond failed in 2023, the South Billings end of town has added a court complex and an ice arena side by side, and both are open this winter. For a 3-on-3 night or Saturday skating, the plan is the same: book ahead and check the calendar.
At Heidi Brosovich, we keep track of what's changing across Billings, from the new courts on Commerce Way to the homes they sit near. If you're curious what your home is worth in a city that keeps adding places like Amend Park, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
