Steamboat Springs City Council met in executive session last week to direct city staff how to proceed in an effort to purchase 187 acres of parkland near the Steamboat Springs Airport and Brown Ranch — a parcel that council considered buying last fall to use as a new regional park.
City parks and recreation staff see an opportunity for a 46-acre regional park with a sports complex and other amenities, as well as 131 acres of open space on the parcel. This area of the city, referred to by parks staff as Slate Creek, scored second highest among 14 areas of interest on a newly developed scoring matrix meant to help guide new parkland acquisitions.
“We can envision a regional park in this area, 40 plus acres [that] could provide athletic fields, a trails system,” Rob Burdine, the city’s deputy parks and recreation director, told council last week. “A lot of excellent opportunities for an underserved region of town, as well as that future growth of Steamboat. This area can provide a lot of those amenities for us.”
Top Photo Caption: Steamboat Springs parks and recreation staff tour a parcel of land between the Steamboat Springs Airport and Brown Ranch. City Council met in executive session to discuss purchasing the property last week. (City of Steamboat Springs/Courtesy)