Building the future By Becky Grubb, Communications Manager, South Suburban Parks and Recreation
The south Denver metro area population has continued to steadily grow, and South Suburban Park and Recreation District (SSPRD) is doing its part to meet the needs of the changing community. A new, 206,000 square foot sports complex is set to open in January 2021 after SSPR’s 2017 Master Plan outlined the desire for more indoor recreational amenities, including more sheets of ice, and indoor courts and fields. South Suburban is a special district that encompasses 46 square miles. Currently it serves approximately 160,000 residents in six cities and towns throughout Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties in Colorado.
24 • Colorado Byline | Fall 2020
“We recognized a need in our community to provide first-class, indoor recreation facilities,” said SSPRD Executive Director Rob Hanna. “We’ve made a commitment to our patrons to provide the best in recreation and replace aging facilities like the 52-year old South Suburban Ice Arena. The new regional sports complex will provide more opportunities for ice sports and drop-in activities such as Pickleball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer.” In November 2017, South Suburban took a ballot initiative to the voters. The issue asked voters to allow SSPRD to increase its debt to improve trail connectivity, as well as fund water and energy efficiencies
and improve and repair recreation facilities for seniors, families, and children; build a new indoor multigenerational facility, and renovate and upgrade existing playgrounds and parks. The public, recognizing the importance of community investment and upgraded facilities, passed the measure. “We created a Gold Medal Committee, which was a citizen’s forum to discuss community needs and requests from South Suburban,” said John Ostermiller, South Suburban Board Chair from 2012-2018. “We learned that there was a strong interest in more ice time and additional turf fields. That feedback gave us confidence that voters would support a bond issue to
