The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis and the city of Noblesville have had preliminary discussion about opening a branch at a future park near Verizon Wireless Music Center northwest of I-69 Exit 10.

The talks come at time when the county’s only YMCA branch is at capacity and undergoing an expansion. The Fishers YMCA opened in 2002 and now has 22,000 members. YMCA officials have long since pointed to it as a great success, and rumors of another branch opening in Westfield or Noblesville have persisted.

Ground broke two weeks ago on the 10,000-square-foot addition to the Fishers Y, and work should conclude by year’s end or in early 2010. Executive Director Gregg Hiland said the organization has raised $1.5 million toward a $1.7 million campaign through private donations and now plans to make the effort public to raise the remaining $200,000.

St. Vincent Hospital and the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis also are finishing up work on the 3,900-square-foot St. Vincent Physical Therapy Center attached to the branch, and the medical workers were scheduled to begin seeing patients Oct. 19. With both additions, the YMCA will be about 84,000 square feet.

Hiland said it’s still likely to be full, especially during peak times in the mornings and afternoons.

Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear hopes the Fishers YMCA’s success leads the organization to open a branch in his city. YMCA of Greater Indianapolis spokeswoman Tangelo Floyd said talks are “very preliminary” and declined further comment.

“The idea of a Y as part of our park is very exciting,” Ditslear said. “We have always wanted a community center.”

The YMCA branch could have a skate park and aquatics center, said Parks Director Don Seal.

He said the city’s portion of the 184-acre Eastside Park itself could include nature trails, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, a dog park, 18-hole disc golf course, four softball diamonds, three multipurpose fields, two major playgrounds, garden and nature areas, a nature center, an archery area and eight shelters.

There is no funding available or timeline to build the park, which would be near 166th Street and Boden Road. Ditslear said construction could be years away as the city weathers an economic storm. His staff recently cut costs to bridge a $2.9 million gap in the 2010 city budget left by statewide property tax reform. The gap in 2011 could reach $3.2 million.

Like the park, the YMCA branch also could be years down the road, Seal said. If the YMCA is not interested, he said, the city would consider partnering with private or nonprofit organizations on a similar indoor facility.

Seal does not envision Noblesville attempting to build the center itself, as Carmel did with the Monon Center. Last year, the $55 million center needed $539,000 in tax money to get through the year. This year it will need up to a $1.2 million subsidy.