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Recreation Facility Naming Review and Recommendation
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Summary and Background Information: As a follow up to the initial facility naming presentation on 5/22/17, the Commerce City Parks, Recreation & Golf (PRG) Advisory Committee would like to share their revised recommendations regarding facility names for the existing and new recreation centers. Bret Walker, PRG Advisory Committee Co-Chair, will share the proposed names for the existing commerce city recreation center on behalf of the advisory committee, as well as recommendation for the new recreation center. The presentation will review the facility naming policy (Council Policy #CP-7 adopted by City Council on 9/15/14), the steps that have been taken to reach the recommendation, and the recommended names. The PRG Advisory Committee has narrowed down the list of names for the existing recreation center to three names. They would like City Council to make the final selection. Those names, with a summary for each, are presented alphabetically:
Cannonball Creek Recreation Center
This name was brought forth in an effort to tie Commerce City’s rich history to the facility name. Advisory members reviewed information published by the Commerce City Historical Society, and made this connection. If selected, they would intend to incorporate educational signage. The opportunity to educate youth and adults alike was intriguing to some members.
In 1832, Louis Vasquez built a trading post on the east banks of Cannonball Creek. Today this stream is known as Clear Creek. Vasquez’s Fort Convenience was in the area of the present-day Adams County Social Services Building at 4200 E. 72nd Avenue.
Cannonball Creek Recreation Center would be a great name to tie all the great things about the origins of the city to all the great new things happening in Commerce City without utilizing some of the original town names. This recommendation connects the two recreation centers via “creek” and “ridge” and bonds all the other parts of the city together.
Eagle Pointe Recreation Center
Eagle Pointe Recreation Center satisfies the objectives of creating a sense of unity between the different regions of Commerce City while still providing distinctiveness and proper respect to our history. The symmetry and common theme of the two names, Eagle Pointe & Bison Ridge, is self-evident. Beyond that, there is no city that comes to mind in the entirety of the United States in which both Bison and Bald Eagles can be observed in nature on such a regular basis. This unique privilege is a source of tremendous pride and these names highlight that. In addition, Bald Eagles and Bison are typically observed on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. The conjunction of Eagle Pointe & Bison Ridge takes that which physically divides us and turns it into a unifying force. Eagle Pointe also distinguishes the existing recreation center in its own right. Incorporating a revered symbol of our country into the name for the recreation center located at Veterans Memorial Park provides that distinction and establishes a sense of place in the minds of all that come to know it.
Some may object to Eagle Pointe because it mimics the mascot of a high school that only represents half the city. Quite the opposite is true. By incorporating the Eagle mascot into the name, we are giving a hat tip to Commerce City’s original Adams City High School (Est 1946) and its forerunner, Union High School (Est 1908). Both schools were originally located on the same site a few blocks from where the existing recreation center now sits. Acknowledging the significant role both Union and Adams City High Schools played in the rich history of Commerce City keeps the memory of our shared history alive and well. Eagle Pointe Recreation Center meets all the objectives we have set forth for ourselves in creating a name for the existing recreation center: Unity, Distinction, and History.
Founders Recreation Center
The word Founders means “one who founds or establishes”. It could recognize our city’s rich history by honoring its founders. In the case of renaming our present (old) recreation center, this term could relate to the founders of the original “Commerce Town” and/or the present “Commerce City”. Or, the word could be used to recognize the founders of the first
Commerce City Recreation Center. These people could include the Mayor, City Council, the (first) Director of Parks and Recreation or other individuals who could be considered “Founders”.
Staff Responsible (Department Head): Carolyn Keith, CPRP, Director
Staff Member Presenting: Bret Walker, PRG Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Financial Impact: $ 0
Funding Source: n/a
Staff Recommendation: City Council recommend one of the three proposed names for the existing recreation center, and take action on both recreation center names at the August 21st Council Meeting and/or provide direction regarding next steps in accordance with Council Policy #CP-7 specific to the proposed names for the new and existing recreation facilities as recommended by the Parks, Recreation & Golf Advisory Committee.