Weed-funded recreation center opens in Aurora, Colorado

The city of Aurora, Colorado, on Tuesday hosted a grand opening of its brand new 77,000-square-foot, nearly $42 million recreational facility, funded entirely by tax revenues from legal marijuana sales.

The facility, known as the “Southeast Recreation Center and Fieldhouse,” offers a number of amenities, according to local news station KDVR: “A 23,000-square-foot fieldhouse with a temperature-controlled indoor environment; A large field with professional turf; An 8,000 square meter multi-purpose gymnasium [that] will be able to accommodate a main basketball court, two cross-basketball courts, two volleyball courts, or three pickleball courts; A 1/9 mile course that rises above the fitness area and gymnasium; A 7,600-square-foot fitness facility with state-of-the-art equipment, including: A functional fitness space; An outdoor fitness area; A gym; A large common room; [and a] Swimming pool, which in turn consists of: a 125,000-gallon lap pool with a maximum depth of two meters; A spa pool with water jets; A water park with a 25 meter four lane lap pool, a lazy river and a 20 foot water slide.”

The city broke ground on the facility in early 2021, and it is the second new recreational facility to open in Aurora in the past four years.

The other recreation center, which opened in 2019, was also funded by taxes from marijuana sales, according to KDVR. Westworld news agency reported that in 2020, Aurora City Council “approved an increase in the city’s recreational marijuana sales tax from 7.75 percent to 8.75 percent, with the additional proceeds being used to fund youth violence prevention projects.” “.

“We are excited to open our newest recreation center and field home,” Brooke Bell, director of Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space, said in a city news release earlier this month. “Following an extensive process of community engagement, the feedback received guided the creation of this exceptional facility; We look forward to the community enjoying the space they envisioned for years to come.”

In the press release, the city said that the Southeast Recreation Center is “close to several neighborhoods and Aurora Reservoir” and that “the center is a regional destination that will feature the first indoor field home in the city, among a variety of other amenities.” offers and breathtaking views of the Colorado mountains.”

The construction of the two recreational facilities in Aurora will serve as a “proof of concept” for proponents who helped Colorado become one of the first two states to legalize recreational cannabis just over a decade ago, when voters there approved Amendment 64.

Proponents of marijuana legalization have long claimed that a regulated retail cannabis market could be an economic boon for state and local governments.

“Colorado has done what no one has done before,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said at an October event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the state’s legalization move, as quoted by the Denver Gazette. “With voters [approval] of Amendment 64, we made history, so it’s fitting that we’re celebrating 10 years here at History Colorado today.”

Polis, a Democrat, has been working to strengthen the marijuana law. Last summer, he signed an executive order “to ensure that no Coloradan will be penalized for possessing, growing or using marijuana, since that substance is legal in Colorado under Amendment 64,” his office announced at the time.

“Barring people from the workforce for marijuana-related activities, which are legal in Colorado but still prosecuted in other states, is disabling our residents, the economy, and our state. No one who lawfully uses, possesses, cultivates, or processes marijuana under Colorado law should be subject to professional penalties or denied a license to practice in Colorado. This includes individuals who use, possess, grow or process marijuana in another state in a way that would be legal under Colorado law,” Polis said in a statement.