Nearly $400,000 in grants have been awarded for two Durango outdoor projects by Great Outdoors Colorado, which reinvests proceeds from the state’s lottery.
Fort Lewis College, along with the city of Durango, will receive $350,000 to refurbish a dilapidated sports complex on campus, updating three softball fields and building six new tennis courts.
Cathy Metz, the city’s parks and recreation director, said the more than 30-year-old softball complex will get a “complete face-lift,” with the restroom facility that has been closed for eight years removed and replaced.
Metz said lighting will be updated to reduce the spill over of light at night, and new scoreboards will be installed.
The tennis courts on campus, which Metz said haven’t been used in decades, will be removed and new courts will be built near the Smith Sports Complex on campus.
“The GOCO funding really allows us to do things we couldn’t afford to do otherwise,” Metz said.
The project is estimated to be complete in November 2017.
Another $44,164 will be dedicated to construction of a new playground and outdoor classroom at Sunnyside Elementary School, south of Durango on U.S. Highway 550.
The project will include shaded structures, a zip line and new features that cater to younger children. Mary Bates, with the Sunnyside Elementary Parent Teacher Association, said there will also be an enclosed playfield to provide students with more room to run, and a “merry-go-cycle” – a merry-go-round with bicycles.
“I think the enhancements are really going to make a difference for those kids,” Bates said. “It’s going to be a really exciting summer as we start to put some stuff in the ground.”
Bates said planning for the project began last spring when school officials asked students what improvements they’d like to see in the playground.
An outdoor classroom will include interactive equipment and a music garden with instruments, which will allow art, music and math classes to use a natural environment, Bates said.
Students and staff members at Sunnyside raised more than $8,000 in matching funds for the project, which is expected to be complete by the 2016-17 school year.
According to a press release, $5.2 million has been awarded by Great Outdoors Colorado for projects in La Plata County, including Horse Gulch, Animas River Greenway and the Durango Geology Overlook.
Jake Houston, a program manager for Great Outdoors Colorado, said all grant requests in La Plata County during the past review cycle were awarded. Throughout the state, 39 outdoor projects were funded, totaling $6.7 million.
