By Jeff Mitchell

Phase one of the new Quail campus for the City of Longmont Parks and Recreation District is slated to open in March 2002. Located one block east of the intersection of Highway 287 (Main Street) and Quail Road, the center is funded by a $22.4 million bond issue passed in November 1999. The bond passed by 70 percent. The center will be the largest recreation complex in the area and will be a short ride from Niwot and Gunbarrel. 

This project, estimated to cost $17 million, will include an indoor aquatics pool, pool slides, a six-lane lap pool and a lazy river. The building will also have facilities for aerobics, meetings and baby-sitting. A new 23,000 square foot building houses the Longmont Museum which is across from the recreation building and a large outdoor pond. The museum is scheduled for an April 2002 grand opening.
Besides these new facilities, funding was also passed for major renovations to the Roosevelt Park complex on Longs Peak Avenue. Both the Memorial Building, which has housed the majority of Longmont recreation class programs, and the Longmont Senior Center are being expanded and improved. 

The first step to improving Roosevelt Park was to remove the swampy softball fields to make way for a new walking path, a fountain and a multi-purpose pavilion. New softball fields were installed 
by the City of Longmont at the recently opened Sandstone Ranch on the south side of east 3rd Avenue 
(Highway 119) east of County Line Road. 

The grand opening for the renovated Roosevelt Park recreation facilities, which includes a replication of historic Longmont lampposts and benches, is planned for December 2001. 

Photo by Jeff Mitchell
The new Longmont Recreation Center will be a short ride from Niwot and Gunbarrel.