Sports complex, skate park approved in Idaho Springs after advocacy by youth

BY DEBORAH SWEARINGEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

When Ben Shay was growing up, there was a small skate park open in Idaho Springs.

Still, it didn’t meet the demand of the mountain skateboarding community.

at park has since closed, but the push for access to skateboarding has strengthened.

After years of advocacy by area skate enthusiasts, the Idaho Springs City Council on June 26 unanimously approved the master plan that will guide the redesign of the eastern eld at the Idaho Springs Sports Complex and bring a skate park to the community.

“ e numbers show that there’s a huge group of people who would use the park there,” Shay said in the meeting. “ e park plan as a whole just creates so much access for families.”

Shay, the youth involvement coordinator for Clear Creek County’s Mountain Youth Network, works to ll the gaps for youth in the community. Part of that work has included hosting skate trips for young people who enjoy skateboarding but have few places to do it.

According to the recently approved plan, the eastern Shelly Field will be recon gured to include a skate park, playground, stage, tennis and pickleball courts, concession stands, bathrooms, additional parking and more. e western Quinn Field will be upgraded but largely remain the same.

Recent re nements to the master plan include an enlarged 18,000 square-foot skate park, increased exible lawn space to allow for two youth soccer elds, a relocated playground closer to the pedestrian plaza, realigned southern access road to allow for an additional soccer eld and added pedestrian-scale lighting – lighting directed toward to sidewalks and positioned lower than the roadways.

A pump track has been removed from the plan with the intention of looking for a separate location in the area. Additionally, the city is considering where it could share space to locate a half-court basketball court. e redesign project is expected to cost around $5 million. e Clear Creek Metropolitan Recreation District has identi ed potential funding sources, including grants from Great Outdoors Colorado and e Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation. Further, the district is considering coordinating promotional events at downtown businesses and round-up fundraisers at Safeway.

On June 26, Idaho Springs City

Hall was full of young people, eagerly awaiting the council’s decision. It didn’t go unnoticed.

Many were part of the Skate Board, a group of skateboard enthusiasts that’s been instrumental in championing the project by holding skateboarding demonstrations along Miner Street and organizing a GoFundMe fundraiser and a petition with more than 1,000 signatures.

“ is is really exceptional,” Mayor Chuck Harmon said in the meeting. “It’s impressive to see this many people this interested in a topic that I know council cares very much about.

“Don’t ever think that your pres- ence doesn’t matter, because it absolutely does. We’re all people just like you, and we want the city to have amenities that we would love or we would have loved when we were kids,” Harmon added. e council approved the plan quickly with little discussion. ey moved outside of City Hall, where the group posed for a celebratory photo with skateboards in tow.

Once the crowd realized the plan to bring a skate park to Idaho Springs was o cially set in motion, there were high ves and cheers in excitement.

“We did it!” some members of the Skate Board exclaimed.

We’d like to know about events or activities of interest to the community. Visit www.canyoncourier.com/calendar/ and post your event online for free. Email dbrobst@coloradocommunitymedia.com to get items in the print version of the paper. Items will appear in print on a space-available basis.

THURSDAY

Free legal clinic: A free legal clinic for people with no attorney will be from 2 to 5 p.m. ursday, July 6. Volunteer attorneys will answer questions, help ll out forms, and explain the process and procedure for all areas of civil litigation. Preregistration for individual 15-minute appointments is available by calling 303-235-5275.

Classic movie night: Center Stage is hosting monthly classic movie nights with acclaimed lms from the silent era to the golden age of cinema. e rst movie will be “Casablanca” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman at 6:30 p.m. ursday, July 6, at the theater, 27608 Fireweed Drive, Evergreen. Single tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for students. For more information and tickets, visit ovationwest.org.

FRIDAY

Camp Comfort Weekend Camp: Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice’s Camp Comfort for children 6-12 who have lost a loved one will be July 7-9 at the Rocky Mountain Village Easter Seals Camp, 2644 Alvarado Road, Empire. Cost is free for all children thanks to donors, but a $25 deposit is required per child to hold their spot. Visit campcomfort. org for more information and to register.

All In Ensemble: e All In Ensemble, a new theater group committed to diversity, will perform “Sagittarius Ponderosa” by MJ Kaufman for three weekends through July 16 at the Roaming Gnome eatre, 10255 E. 25th Ave., Unit 5, Aurora. Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets for the show cost $25 and are available on Eventbrite.

SATURDAY

Cars and Co ee: Cars and Coffee, a show for car enthusiasts, will be from 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays until Aug. 26 in front of Olde’s Garage on Evergreen Parkway. ere’s no registration fee. Bring your classic car or stop in to check out the vehicles. Free co ee and doughnuts. Donations bene t Mount Evans Hospice.

TUESDAY

Evergreen Moonlight Garden Club: e Evergreen Moonlight Garden Club will meet from 6-8 p.m. July 11. Lee Recca with the Denver Permaculture Guild will share how permaculture changed her life and her leadership role with Native American Sacred Trees & People. Recca will lead a hike at ree Sisters Open Space Park starting at 3 p.m. to look at culturally modi ed trees. e group will meet at the park and carpool to the trailhead. Email vcorder@helmsbriscoe.com for details about both events and information on the meeting location.

WEDNESDAY

EPRD summer concert series: e Evergreen Park & Recreation district will host four concerts starting at 4:30 p.m. this summer: July 12: Blood Brothers at the Buchanan Park elds; July 26: May Be Fern at Evergreen Lake; and Aug. 9: Cass Clayton Band at Buchanan Park elds.

UPCOMING

Evergreen chamber monthly chamber mixer: e Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce will host its monthly chamber mixer at 5 p.m. July 13 at Flicker & Finch salon. For more information and to register, visit evergreenchamber.org.

Fun Day at the Ranch: Wild Aware is sponsoring a family fun day fundraiser from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 15 at a ranch just past Alderfer/ ree Sisters Open Space Park. For more information, visit wildaware.com.

Bene t concert: Stop the Bike Park is hosting a bene t concert from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 16, at e Barn at Evergreen Memorial Park featuring the Shadow Mountain Drive Band. Suggested donation is $15.

Quarterly nonpro t meeting: e Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly nonpro t meeting will be at 3 p.m. July 17 at Evergreen Library. For more information, visit evergreenchamber.org.

SEE HAPPENINGS, P21