By order of Sheriff Darren Weekly, Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in place for unincorporated areas of Douglas County. Ordinance No. O-012-004 restricts open fires, open burning, and the use of fireworks in the unincorporated areas of Douglas County. Additional information on fire restrictions stages can be located at the Douglas County Emergency Management website.
Following community input, Douglas County is embarking on a journey to provide much-needed space for youth sports. Learn about the public process to develop the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex below, and be sure to sign up for email updates to get current, accurate information.
Zebulon is one piece of a larger planned development along Waterton Road in Sterling Ranch, portions of which will be County-owned and portions privately-owned. The proposed development includes approximately 200 acres of open space, about 50 acres for the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex, and space for a new County emergency operations and training center, plus 200 acres for Sterling Ranch private development. The current planned location for Zebulon requires no remediation.
A separate portion of the Waterton Road development was formerly Chemours Louviers Site, used as a dynamite factory from 1907 to 1989. In 2022, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) provided a letter approving prior remediation on the Waterton Road development site. Some small parcels of privately owned property remain on the Waterton Road development site that are under a deed restriction for solid waste management units, which would need to be remediated prior to construction of that area; these parcels are outside of the planned space for Zebulon. Read the letter in the Additional Materials & Resources section below.
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce provided an Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis on the site, which includes both Zebulon and additional private development in the area, known as The Waterton West Development, which will include 2.39 million-square feet of mixed-use development.
The report estimates that “from 2026 to 2036, the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex is expected to generate a total economic impact of $1.3 billion, including $528.4 million in labor income and support for 1,764 jobs through construction and ongoing operations.” Read the full report in the Additional Materials & Resources section below.
The plans for the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex are huge. On the drawing board are four baseball fields, three ice rinks and a pair of soccer fields. Eight to 10 basketball courts — which can be converted into 20 volleyball courts or 30 pickleball courts — are also in the mix.
Douglas County and Sterling Ranch Development Company will partner with public entities and private industry to build a mega sports complex, called Zebulon, (named after Western Explorer Zebulon Pike) that includes spaces for basketball, baseball/softball, volleyball, football, soccer and hockey, while preserving more than 400 acres of open space in the area.
