Austin's Youth Activity Center (YAC) offers a safe, fun haven for kids who are looking for entertainment.

Now that the YAC has moved to the Riverside Arena from the armory, it can offer a more comfortable atmosphere and more room for activities such as pool, foosball, ping pong, Nintendo, crafts and board games.

"The space is nicer, more homey. It's not quite as institutional as it was out there (at the armory). We have carpet now instead of tile floors and we can hang stuff on the walls," Val Pitzen, recreation supervisor of the Austin Park and Recreation Department, says. "We have more computers and high speed Internet, which we didn't have at the armory. We also have two pool tables and two foosball tables now. The only thing we can't offer anymore are cooking nights because we don't have a kitchen."

Ian Stahl, a YAC supervisor adds, "We don't have a gym anymore and we don't have room for sound equipment so bands can't come in and play anymore (but) I think it's a much better place for the kids than the armory. It's a more relaxed atmosphere. They can do more of what they want here, so it's a better place because of all that freedom."

The move has had a few drawbacks, though. Stahl says "there has been a decrease in the number of kids who have been coming because we haven't been able to be open as often because of events the arena had already scheduled before we moved in. The kids couldn't be here because they weren't supposed to be wandering all over the place." The warmer weather also has lured kids outside, which has contributed to a drop in the number of children coming to the YAC, Pitzen says.

"I thought we would get more kids because being more centralized in town, rather than out there on the outskirts of town, like we were when we were in the armory," Ronnie Rosenberger, also a YAC supervisor says.

Still, she acknowledges, even transportation to a better location can be an issue for parents, and that could be a factor for the lack of kids at the center. "I would like to see MCT (Mower County Transit) do a fun run where they pick up kids after school and drop them off at the YAC and then maybe do another one at 6 p.m. and take them from the YAC to the school. Not one every hour, but maybe just two runs a night. That might help."

The kids who have been coming, though are mostly pleased with the new location.

Jimmy Rosenberger, 10 says he comes to the YAC because "it has fun activities," and likes the new location because "I can walk here."

His sister, Kimberley, 11, says "I like it and I don't. It's better because it has a rug and it feels more like home, but at the armory we had a gym and stuff."

Her sister Melissa, 14, agrees. "There was a lot more room (at the armory) and it had a kitchen and a gym. I liked it over there better."

The center will close for the summer at the end of April, and Pitzen says she is confident "once we come back in the fall, we'll have more kids."

She thinks the new location will attract many hockey players because "before and after hockey they can come in and do something instead of just handing around the arena."

Pitzen also hopes the YAC's new location will attract kids who don't have anywhere else to go after school or on weekends. "We're providing a place for kids to go and gather. When they're bored is when they're going to get into trouble," Pitzen says. "We try to make them feel welcome by giving them a place where they can come and someone will ask them 'Hi John, how are you?'"

Rosenberger says since most of the supervisors are college students, the kids who come to the YAC can really relate to and feel comfortable with them. "It's nice to see the interaction between them. They really relate to the kids really well and it's nice to see that. They relate to me a little bit differently than they do with the others," Rosenberger, a mother of three, says. "They (the kids) look up to them, but at the same time they can joke around them."

"This is really a nice place and it's not utilized enough. I would like to see more people coming here because we have so much to offer," she adds.

The center is located inside the back entrance of Riverside Arena and is open 3:30 to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 3:30 to 10 p.m., Friday; 1 to 10 p.m., Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. On weekdays when school isn't in session, the YAC is open at 1 p.m. The center is open to all children 11 years old and in the fifth grade. For more information, contact the Park and Recreation Department at 433-1881.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mailing amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com