The new building will be located just south of the current Oak Park Golf Course clubhouse and will be double in size to the structure currently used.

“My dream is that this Events Center will bring in people from throughout the area,” said Dayton Mayor Dave Bills. “I want the Events Center to be able to host weddings, receptions, graduations, and birthday parties. We’re hoping that it will serve a whole new menu than what we currently do. We want this Events Center to draw people in to Dayton.”

The city of Dayton and the Dayton Community Club were awarded a Destination Iowa grant by the Iowa Economic Development Authority in March 2023 for $800,000 to be used for improvements to Oak Park and the Events Center.

That total is 34 percent of the total project investment of $2,372,703, according to the IEDA.

“We’re working hard on additional funding,” said Bills. “A new grant application was just sent out last week, and Jacob Bylund, pro bono legal counsel for the Dayton Community Club, is doing a great job alongside members of our council of finding new funding and working on fundraising opportunities.”

According to Bills, fundraising campaigns will begin soon to aid in financing the interior of the building.

“We have a great City Council and they’ve been very supportive,” said Bills. “The Webster County Board of Supervisors have been a great help with the bike trail and they’re helping to support this. They see the importance of having a nice place like this in a small town like Dayton.”

The Dayton Events Center, when completed, will house the golf course’s clubhouse which just celebrated its first year of remaining open year round.

“We kept the clubhouse open last year and had a very successful year,” said Bills. “The golf course and the clubhouse have done exceptionally well the past few years. The number of people camping at Oak Park has increased, too.”

According to Bills, the current clubhouse is still in good condition and the council is exploring possibilities as to what it will be used for in the future.

The timeline for the new events center is still fluid, though Bills said he hopes to open to the public in the fall of 2025.

One unique shift in that timeline and to Oak Park is that the area where construction has begun is typically used for parking for the upcoming Dayton Rodeo. Bills said that the parking lot for the new events center should be done in time for the rodeo and cars will be able to park there. The area around the building foundation and plumbing will be roped off from cars and rodeo attendees.

“We have backup plans in place,” said Bills. “If there is overfill, then we’ll move to the back of the golf course and even to the old Landus site south of town and we’ll shuttle people in on golf carts and side-by-sides.”

Bills credited state Sen. Jesse Green, R-Boone, and Webster County Supervisor Mark Campbell for their support of the project and for their backing of the upcoming bike trail project which will connect to the events center.