New Rec Center Set To Open Thanks In Part To Marijuana
By Jeff Todd
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - It's been decades since Aurora had a new recreation center, but now the city could have two brand new facilities funded entirely from recreational marijuana tax money.
A budget proposal has money for the new center near Aurora Reservoir. The $30 million Central Rec Center is expected to open in early 2019 and is paid for with $2 million a year in pot taxes.
"There was nothing in here until they transformed it, all it was was a swimming pool and nothing else," said Glen Coleman outside the Moorhead Rec Center.
Moorhead underwent a $13 million renovation and reopened last year. A fraction of the money for that remodel also came from pot taxes.
"It's what everybody who lives over here needs... a place to come," said Coleman. "Nothing, but 100 percent fun."
The new rec center still faces a long road for approval, but the first step could come later this month with a budget approval from city councilors.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.