After community efforts, Colorado county votes to preserve historic baseball fields in sale
On Tuesday, the Boulder County Commissioners voted to move forward with a development plan for their former North Broadway complex in the Colorado city of Boulder that would preserve the historic nearby baseball park at Iris Fields. County commissioners voted 2-1 to enter into a contract with The Academy Management Group for $26 million that aims to preserve the fields and possibly introduce new affordable senior housing to the area.
The lot came up for sale after the county decided to downsize much of their human services staff to another building, saying that many of those employees now work remotely. The county estimates the move will save the county $12.5 over the next five years. However, the sale of their buildings also meant the possibility of losing Iris Fields.
North Boulder Little League players have run the bases of Iris Fields for almost 70 years, and as the league's Vice President, Thomas Click has spent endless hours coaching them.
"This is a little slice of americana, you know, this is, this is a classroom of life here," Click said.
So earlier this year, when the county put this land up for sale and the fields' days looked numbered, Click took a swing.
"A handful of us stood up and just said, 'No, we're not going to let that happen,'" Click said, "Our petition, we've got 5,000 signatures on it, and there are hundreds of comments on there of people just bearing their souls and talking about what the fields really meant to them."
Eventually the league found a developer that wanted to help called the The Academy Management Group and submit their own bid. But they still needed Boulder County Commissioners like Ashley Stolzmann to approve it.
"We certainly heard from the neighborhood right around the property, but also ... heard from people with different perspectives on the type of housing or not housing that should go on this site," Stolzmann said.
And on Tuesday, the fields' future came to a vote.
"Everyone sat quietly all through the hearing, and was like, on their best, you know, best church-like behavior. And then once the vote was taken, the crowd just erupted in tears," Stolzmann said.
In a 2-1 vote, the fields now seem to be "safe."
"To see everybody come together ... that's a super powerful thing, and hopefully it laid some framework for the way things can be going forward," Click said.
And Click is already looking forward to seeing all his players for years to come.
When asked what the league's plans are for opening day next year Click said, "Oh, man, we're going big. We're going really big. I'll make sure of it."
As with any major sale, there are still some details that still need to be worked out, including a 90 days due diligence period, but this vote lays the groundwork for the fields preservation and the possible addition of senior housing in the future.
The county expects to move out of their North Complex offices sometime next year.