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.

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.

Proposed facility

The first phase of the proposed facility could include five indoor courts to accommodate basketball, volleyball and pickleball, as well as additional uses such as wrestling, other court sports and fitness. Tournament uses could also provide an economic driver showcasing Castle Rock's commitment to active lifestyles and competition. The proposed facility could also feature a 25 by 25-meter competition pool with spectator seating elevated above the pool deck and a warm-up pool, an indoor adventure track, fitness and sports training areas and group fitness rooms. Meeting, team and locker rooms are also included in the plan, with space to host parties, events and e-sports. Future phases could include the addition of two courts, increased group fitness and a turf-field expansion. The rendering at the right shows the first floor rendering only. To view the second floor and additional renderings, view the presentation to Town Council for the Sports Development Center discussion (PDF).

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. Funding for new recreation facilities comes from impact fees that are charged to new developments to ensure that growth helps pay for growth and that the Town can continue to meet parks and recreation service demands as the population expands. Parks and Recreation impact fees may only be used toward the development of new facilities. The Town currently has the capacity to build phase one of a sports development center with a $63 to $67 million budget if using private financing that Confluence can offer or COPs.

Public input and next steps

Two means of engagement with the public allowed staff to hear public input on the proposed Sports Development Center. An open house was held in June, allowing staff to listen to residents' comments and concerns and answer questions. Additionally, 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).

During a Town Council meeting in October, staff presented these findings in more detail. At this meeting, Council approved two more steps to continue moving this possibility forward.

First, Council approved entering into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with CD-Acme LLC/Confluence Companies to signal the Town's formal pursuit of the project. Council also authorized an agreement with architecture firm Barker Rinker Seacat to complete a schematic design for the potential facility.

The memorandum of understanding does not have an immediate cost, while the architectural services will cost about $577,000. If Town Council decides not to move forward with the project as contemplated, much of the design proposed could be applied to another site.

For the Brickyard project to move forward, the land it would occupy must be rezoned. Confluence Companies is separately pursuing that action. If approved, a lease agreement for the Sports Development Center and an agreement to finalize the center's design would be brought back to Town Council.