Proposed Recreation Facility

Proposed sports development center

The Castle Rock community supports Town-operated indoor recreation and has for over 30 years, since the Recreation Center was built in 1988, when the population was only about 8,000. To continue to maintain quality of life expectations for a growing community, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and Strategic Plan support the development of a new indoor recreation facility. New facilities are funded through impact fees. 

Recreation Feasibility Study

Throughout 2021, staff partnered with architecture firm Barker Rinker Seacat to conduct an Indoor Recreation Feasibility Study. The purpose of the study was to assess relevant project details for the next facility, including factors such as programming needs and options, development costs, soft costs and future operational and site requirements.

The study identified the community need to have the next proposed facility focus on sports development and fitness in order to complement the youth-focused Miller Activity Complex and traditional recreation options available at the Recreation Center. The Town has not constructed a new gymnasium or competitive pool since 1988. By the time a potential new facility is developed, the Town will have approximately 90,000 residents.

The recreation industry is thriving and drivers of this trend include escalating health insurance costs and the desire for healthy lifestyles. The Town will need continued commitment to meet residents' recreation needs, and unlike private health clubs or specialized facilities, demand for large, team-based athletic spaces such as gymnasiums, ice or competitive pools is unlikely to be met by the private sector. A new sports development center could help fill in this gap by offering new and much-needed facility space for league and tournament play, developmental programming and expanded drop-in use.

Request for proposals

Since the Town owns limited site options to construct a recreation facility of this nature, staff issued a Request for Proposals to seek potential partners to contribute land and other value to the project. All undeveloped park properties owned by the Town that could accommodate a future facility are located within residential areas, and a sports development center could potentially generate significant traffic, especially during tournaments, requiring a more ideal and centrally located site.

Confluence Companies, the developer of the Riverwalk and Encore, answered the RFP and provided a proposal to provide land and options for financing and construction services to advance the project. Confluence proposes to build the sports development center at the former Acme Brick facility on Prairie Hawk Drive. They envision the facility as part of an overall mixed-use development project called the Brickyard that would clean up a blighted industrial area and energize the proposed development.

The Brickyard property is located adjacent to Interstate 25 and the future Prairie Hawk extension, placing it between two I-25 interchanges and located along the Town's ring road. The property is centrally located within Castle Rock and equidistant and along a frequently traveled route for many Town residents. 

Proposed facility program

The proposed facility could include a variety of complementary amenities, such as: 

• Competition gymnasium; court space to allow for five high school-sized basketball courts (can be broken down to maximize usage, such as eight elementary-sized basketball courts, six volleyball courts, 12 pickleball courts, etc.)
  
  
• Competition natatorium featuring an 11-lane, 25-yard x 9-lane, 25-meter pool and diving board, as well as a 3-lane, 25-yard warm up pool with deck separated spectator seating
  
  
• Cardio, circuit, stretching, plyometric and free-weight stations 
  
  
• Group fitness studios and a spinning studio 
  
  
• Outdoor fitness green
  
  
• Adventure track with elevation (6.2 laps per mile) and a flat track (13.5 laps per mile)
  
  
• Child care area
  
  
• Indoor playground
  
  
• Gaming/e-sports room
  
  
• Meeting and party rooms 
  
  
• Administrative and tournament office spaces

Public input and next steps

• June 2022
  Two means of engagement with the public allowed staff to hear public input on the proposed Sports Development Center. An open house was held and an online questionnaire was available for five weeks, collecting over 600 responses. Key findings are shown below. View the Sports Development Center questionnaire results (PDF).
  
  
• October 2022
  Staff presented key findings from the public process to Town Council; Town Council approved:  
  • A non-binding memorandum of understanding with CD-Acme LLC/Confluence Companies to signal the Town's formal pursuit of the project
  • An agreement with architecture firm Barker Rinker Seacat to complete a schematic design for the proposed facility
• June 2023
  Town Council approved an amendment to the agreement with Barker Rinker Seacat to create design development and complete construction documents for the proposed sports development center
  
  
• Fall 2023
  For the Brickyard project to move forward, the property must be rezoned and a development agreement approved; Confluence Companies will concurrently pursue these steps as the facility's design is finalized and eventually approved by Town Council