The youth sports community has been voicing concerns for weeks about plans to shrink some of the sports areas at Douglas County Fairgrounds Regional Park, with officials saying renovations are due and demand for the event venue space has exceeded capacity.
Mark Steinke, president of the local Raptors athletics program, isn’t opposed to the expansion, but he is opposed to the elimination of a field that has served kids for more than 20 years.
“It’s tough because it’s devastating for us. When we lose these fields, we lose a big part of our program,” Steinke said, referring to the impact on the Raptors’ baseball, football and softball teams.
Amid the backlash, officials have pointed to the possibility of building new playgrounds in other parts of the county, which leaders might pay for using funds from a voter-approved sales tax for parks and recreation.
“I’m very interested in prioritizing youth sports fields, especially baseball fields,” County Commissioner George Thiel said during a recent town hall discussion.
Sports arenas aren’t the only thing the county is spending taxpayer money on, and it will have to balance a variety of priorities.
“If the baseball guys work with the football guys and get the swimmers involved,” it will help leaders decide what to spend money on, County Commissioner Abe Leydon said.
But building a new arena elsewhere in the county wouldn’t help the Steinke Raptors because the nonprofit serves Castle Rock and Castle Pines, he said.
“There’s a severe lack of services in Castle Rock,” Steinke said.
In May, a large crowd, including young people dressed in youth sports uniforms, gathered at the county headquarters in Castle Rock.
At that contentious meeting, which also saw several interruptions from the audience, officials were confronted with the question of whether there were plans to build other playgrounds so that children would not lose space.
The concerns centered on the Fairgrounds Master Plan, an initiative to renovate the county fairgrounds, home to the annual county fair and other events. Some athletic fields could be retained, according to a draft of the Fairgrounds Master Plan.
But three fields near the eastern end of the fairgrounds could be converted for new uses.
Affected facilities could include one baseball field, one football/lacrosse field and one multi-use area for soccer, said Tim Hallmark, the county’s facilities director.
These will be removed to make way for the addition of new structures, including buildings A, B and C on the proposed plans, which will include a new multi-use barn space and a 4-H meeting room.
New possibilities elsewhere
At City Hall in late June, officials pointed to three possible sites elsewhere in the county beyond the fairgrounds where a new athletic field could be built.
One of those is in the Sterling Ranch area in the northwest part of the county, where blueprints dated June 3 show a soccer complex with four fields near Waterton Road.
Leydon also mentioned Lone Tree’s proposed High Note Park, which would be built along Happy Canyon Creek near Interstate 25 and Ridge Gate Parkway. The park could include a multi-use artificial turf playing field, according to April plans.
Commissioner Laura Thomas mentioned Wildcat Regional Park, a recreation area planned for south of Rocky Heights Middle School between Daniels Park Road and Monarch Boulevard.
“I think this would be a great spot to put a playground for kids,” Thomas said of the Highlands Ranch site, suggesting it could host baseball games as well.
One Highlands Ranch native who attended the June town hall expressed concern about habitat protection, while another was worried about elk and other wildlife.
Steinke emphasized that Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch are outside the Raptors’ athletic boundaries.
“(For example) Parker’s new field is going to be of no use, even though it’s in Douglas County,” Steinke said.
County seeks further public opinion
Thomas said the county wants to continue to gather input from residents.
The town hall presentation mentioned a community study. The county is in the early stages of launching the investigation and will announce access to it once it’s completed, a county spokesperson said.
According to the county, the voter-approved 0.17% sales and use tax has helped preserve parks, trails, historic resources and open space throughout Douglas County since 1994. In 2022, Douglas County voters approved a measure to extend the sales tax, which is expected to generate $350 million over 15 years.
