Aurora takes SI Sportstown Honor for Colorado

By Andrew Schulman

Listening to members of the City of Aurora, Colo., Library & Recreation Services Department and the Parks & Open Space Department talk about the event they recently held to announce the city's designation as a Sports Illustrated Sportstown, you get the feeling that they know a thing or two about bringing people together and having a good time.

“We had 240 attendees at our ‘Aurora Sports Appreciation Night,’ a true cross-section of our population, and most of them showed up in their favorite sports jersey,” said Recreation Services Department Sports Administrator Al Horton. “We gave out Lifetime Achievement Awards to 13 people, served hot dogs, brats and pizza, handed out door prizes and even had an organist like at a baseball game.”

And while Horton didn’t mention if there were vendors selling peanuts in the aisles, there’s no denying the organization’s ability to facilitate first-class events and foster a sense of community, two characteristics that run through all of its activities and have earned Aurora the SI Sportstown honor.

Located less than 10 miles east of Denver, the City of Aurora has grown from a population of approximately 80,000 in the 1970s to almost 300,000 today, and yet it has maintained its cooperative spirit and small-town feel –- an attitude that carries over to the city's recreation services division.

“In the spirit of cooperation, our role is to supplement rather than compete with the local youth organizations we partner with, to fill the gaps in the programming and make sure there’s something for everyone,” said Lori Daniel, manager of the Recreation Services Department and president-elect of the National Recreation and Park Association.

To that end, Daniel and her staff work in tandem with a multitude of independent youth sports organizations (IYSOs) –- such as Little League baseball –- as well as with two local school districts to ensure that all area youth have a full array of recreational and competitive sports opportunities available to them, no matter their age or ability.

With a focus on youth, the Library & Recreation Services Department and Parks and Open Space Department work together to provide sports and recreation programs for the city’s adult, senior, and disabled populations as well. They have recently experienced an increase in demand for these activities and the city has been stepping up its offerings, according to Recreation Services Administrator Linda Kotowski. Just this past July, the city hosted the 2003 Beep Baseball World Series, which included 18 teams of blind adult and children athletes from across the U.S.

That tournament was played at the recently opened Aurora Sports Park –- an $18 million, 212-acre complex that features 12 baseball fields, 22 multi-use fields and one championship soccer field. The Sports Park is just one of the many fine facilities that Aurora has built and maintains to provide its residents with first-class fields, parks and other facilities to play just about any sport imaginable.

For all of this programming and these great facilities Aurora residents have the cooperative spirit of the city’s parks and recreation departments –- a spirit that seems to extend through the entire state.

“Here in Colorado, the competition among parks and recreation organizations is fierce,” said Daniel. “One group does something new and raises the bar for everyone else … but they share their information and the rest of us work to catch up. Then someone else finds a new way and the cycle begins again.”

And, by being named the Sports Illustrated Sportstown for Colorado, Aurora has taken the lead in this friendly competition … for the moment, at least.