{"id":7654,"date":"2017-08-15T21:38:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T21:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2748025"},"modified":"2017-08-15T21:38:25","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T21:38:25","slug":"aurora-closing-gap-in-citywide-recreation-space-with-reopening-of-moorhead-groundbreaking-at-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/aurora-closing-gap-in-citywide-recreation-space-with-reopening-of-moorhead-groundbreaking-at-central\/","title":{"rendered":"Aurora closing gap in citywide recreation space with reopening of Moorhead, groundbreaking at Central"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/aurora-closing-gap-in-citywide-recreation-space-with-reopening-of-moorhead-groundbreaking-at-central\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-slideshow\"><button class=\"icon-close\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" alt=\"Elijah Watkins takes a shot as he shoots around with Earl Watkins and Phillipp Williams at Moorhead Recreation Center on August 8 in Aurora. Aurora opened Moorhead Recreation Center about a month ago after an renovation of the space that made it 10 times bigger than it was going from 3,000 sq ft to over 40,000 sq ft. Aurora also recently broke ground on the Central Recreation Center, it's newest full-service facility, to be built in south Aurora and open next year prospectively. (Photo by Seth McConnell\/YourHub)\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"slide-caption\">Elijah Watkins takes a shot as he shoots around with Earl Watkins and Phillipp Williams at Moorhead Recreation Center on August 8 in Aurora. Aurora opened Moorhead Recreation Center about a month ago after an renovation of the space that made it 10 times bigger than it was going from 3,000 sq ft to over 40,000 sq ft. Aurora also recently broke ground on the Central Recreation Center, it&#8217;s newest full-service facility, to be built in south Aurora and open next year prospectively. (Photo by Seth McConnell\/YourHub)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" alt=\"Children swim in the new lazy river at Moorhead Recreation Center on August 8 in Auror. Aurora opened Moorhead Recreation Center about a month ago after an renovation of the space that made it 10 times bigger than it was going from 3,000 sq ft to over 40,000 sq ft. Aurora also recently broke ground on the Central Recreation Center, it's newest full-service facility, to be built in south Aurora and open next year prospectively. (Photo by Seth McConnell\/YourHub)\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"slide-caption\">Children swim in the new lazy river at Moorhead Recreation Center on August 8 in Auror. Aurora opened Moorhead Recreation Center about a month ago after an renovation of the space that made it 10 times bigger than it was going from 3,000 sq ft to over 40,000 sq ft. Aurora also recently broke ground on the Central Recreation Center, it&#8217;s newest full-service facility, to be built in south Aurora and open next year prospectively. (Photo by Seth McConnell\/YourHub)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>A collection of black-and-white photos is all that remains of the original Moorhead Recreation Center in north Aurora. In them, kids play baseball and swim in the pool at the 42-year-old center. These aren\u2019t 3-by 3-inch images in a photo album, however. The images are several feet tall and adorn the walls of the city\u2019s newest full-service recreation center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like home again, but bigger,\u201d said Jennifer Taylor, longtime program assistant at Moorhead Recreation Center. \u201cThey really put a lot of time into this place, it\u2019s not just a bigger building. It has heart. It has become something that our community members are really proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The old youth drop-in center measured about 4,000 square feet. It\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2016\/01\/19\/moorhead-recreation-center-in-aurora-closed-for-major-renovations\/\">was torn down last year<\/a> and replaced with a 41,000-square-foot recreation center that reopened June 8 after an 18-month reconstruction. The $16 million project \u2014 funded by $4 million in marijuana revenue tax money and the rest by other city funds \u2014 added a three-court gymnasium, community rooms, a teaching kitchen, an indoor aquatic center with water slide, new locker rooms and a state-of-the-art fitness center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of the cardio equipment that we got has its own TV that gets YouTube and Netflix and Comcast and Facebook,\u201d said Byron Fanning, Aurora\u2019s recreation manager. \u201cOur community meeting room alone is the same size as our old gym. It has an entire wall of glass garage doors that open up onto the patio outside. You can have a heck of a party here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The long-awaited renovation aims to serve residents of all ages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore, we had one adult Zumba class in the gym, but because of the space limitations we would have to kick everyone out of the gym when it was time for class, and then those kids didn\u2019t really have anywhere to go,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cOr sometimes, we\u2019d send the Zumba class over to (Fletcher Community School across the street) so the kids could keep the gym. But now there\u2019s room for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Previously, Aurora had one recreation center with a pool, gymnasium and dedicated workout space \u2014 Beck Recreation Center at 800 Telluride St. The other four community recreation centers served only one or two of those needs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2014\/08\/05\/aurora-is-short-on-recreation-space\/\">A demographics survey started in 2010 by the Aurora Residents for Recreation Task Force<\/a>, revealed the city lacked indoor recreation space \u2014 it averaged 0.44 square feet per capita compared to about 1.7 square feet per capita for the rest of the metro area. That totaled about 400,000 square feet of needed recreation space, city leaders said.<\/p>\n<p>Another facility, Central Recreation Center, is under construction. By next year, the city will have added <a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2016\/12\/13\/aurora-recreation-centers-funded-marijuana-taxes\/\">85,000 square feet of recreational area.<\/a> And recreation leaders expect few idle hours<\/p>\n<p>Membership and drop-in visits at the Beck Recreation Center have totaled more than 70,100 since January, an increase of 37 percent, or 19,251 entries, over the same period in 2016. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAttendance has tripled in the last four years,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cIt used to be that you could fire off cannon at Beck and not hit anyone, and now it\u2019s so busy that even the regulars who have been coming there for years are, like, \u2018Wow, this place is packed.\u2019 It\u2019s truly amazing how much busier it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He attributes that growth to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2014\/12\/02\/aurora-lowers-rates-for-rec-center-drop-in-classes-membership-passes\/\">a drop in fees<\/a>. Since 2014, the fees at Beck center have been cut more than 50 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur mission is to encourage active lifestyles, and we had our prices set up so high that the average person couldn\u2019t really afford it,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cIt was $450 for one adult membership. Now, here at Moorhead, a kid can get a full year\u2019s membership for $50. We lowered all of our prices across the board in anticipation for this opening, and as a result, we\u2019ve seen participation just mushroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The drop in pricing, combined with the excitement surrounding the revamped and expanded Moorhead center, has bumped the city\u2019s recreation revenue considerably.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur revenue budget for Moorhead previously was $11,000 a year, and we couldn\u2019t even make that,\u201d Fanning said. The revamped center made more in its first 10 days than the old center did in all of 2015, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Fanning said community members came in, dropped their jaws and immediately bought memberships.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a couple kids come in here and just start crying,\u201d he said \u201cThese are teenagers, too \u2014 regulars who have been coming here since they were little kids. They couldn\u2019t believe how different it was and how much more they have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sergio Castro, 9, was one of those awe-inspired kids.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>\u201cI used to come to the old rec. center, but it was boring, and so I didn\u2019t stay all the time,\u201d Castro said. \u201cI like this one better because we have computers and a place to work out and a place to play games and go swimming. I come here after school all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything is better,\u201d said Quidman Flemings, 11.\u201cThe basketball court is the best thing, for sure. It\u2019s just better because it\u2019s bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe big reason this got done is the community,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cThey worked together with us and with the Stapleton Foundation and came together and said, \u2018We\u2019ve got to do something,\u2019 and we did. We pulled every penny together in hope that this would happen, hoping that is would lead to more, and that\u2019s exactly what it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Moorhead Recreation Center:<br \/><\/strong><strong>Address:<\/strong> 2390 Havana St.<br \/><strong>Hours:<\/strong>\u00a06 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays<br \/><strong>Drop-In:\u00a0<\/strong>$3 youths (ages 2-17),\u00a0$3.50 young adults (ages 18-26),\u00a0$4 adults (ages 27-61),\u00a0$3.50 seniors (ages 62 and older)<br \/><strong>Memberships:<\/strong> Center-specific and citywide plans available, see\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.auroragov.org\/Moorhead\">www.auroragov.org\/Moorhead<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact:<\/strong> 303-326-8315<\/p>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;They really put a lot of time into this place, it&#8217;s not just a bigger building. It has heart. It has become something that our community members are really proud of.&#8221; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6811,6813,77,9,7267,5019,7268,1,3,61,1736,7115],"tags":[6816,6818,2655,7269,5022,7270,7117],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}