The Colony named SI Sportstown

Texas community honored for collaborative, comprehensive programs

The Colony, Texas, is home to a large number of young couples and a place where many of those couples begin their families -- providing The Colony Parks and Recreation Department with plenty of young customers.

The city's PARD staff and volunteers take their obligation to those "customers" very seriously, which is a major reason why The Colony has been recognized as a Sports Illustrated Sportstown.

“The community had a strong commitment to youth and had all the policies in place to ensure the youth and adults both have quality experiences in all their sport programs,” said the five-person SI Sportstown judging panel in announcing The Colony's selection.

The Colony is home to 34,500 residents, and boasts a recreation program that aims to serve those citizens independently as well as through partnerships with other sports organizations.

“I think one unique thing is how closely all the different sports groups work together,” says David Swain, The Colony PARD's recreation manager. “We pretty much require them to work closely and not focus on what is best for their association, but to work for what’s best for the community.”

As a result of that cooperation, The Colony has streamlined its registration process. Through a computer database, parents can register their children for all sports programs, not just city-sponsored ones, at the recreation center.

The synergy between the PARD and other leagues seems to have inspired other collaborative efforts to improve the quality of sports offered across the city. The most recent example is The Five Star Sports Complex, a new 81-acre sports facility that features seven baseball fields, six soccer fields, two football fields, hiking and biking trails, and more.

After a city-wide survey identified that a sports complex was the No. 1 priority of residents, the department and community worked together on a campaign to propose a tax to fund the facility.

“We decided we wanted this to be the highlight of the community and it’s in a highly visible area,” Swain said of the complex, which is located in the town's center and visible from the highway. “I think that shows the community is very dedicated to recreation.”