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.
Following strong voter support for extending the Parks, Trails, Historic Resources and Open Space Fund in 2022, Douglas County launched a series of surveys, town halls and stakeholder meetings to better understand residents’ priorities. Throughout this process, the need for additional sports facilities consistently emerged as one of the community’s top requests. Now, Douglas County is embarking on a journey to expand youth and adult recreation opportunities for residents with the development of a state-of-the-art sports complex.
With community feedback and guidance from engineering, planning and private‑sector experts, Douglas County has been shaping a vision for a comprehensive, multi‑sport destination that will serve local families and the broader region. The timeline below highlights the key milestones that have brought the project to its current stage from early visioning and land agreements to engineering studies, public input and how we select development partners.
The land near Moore and Waterton Roads has transitioned from a former industrial site to a key part of Douglas County’s long‑term vision for public safety, open space and recreation. Once home to the Dupont/Chemours dynamite facility, the area underwent decades of environmental cleanup and was formally cleared by state regulators in 2022. Douglas County’s 2014 purchase of a portion of the property enabled critical infrastructure while ongoing planning with Sterling Ranch positioned a fully remediated 46.5‑acre site for the proposed Zebulon Regional Sports Complex. Today, the broader Waterton Road area is planned as a mix of open space, public safety facilities and private development, with the Zebulon site requiring no further environmental remediation.
A parcel of land owned by Sterling Ranch was identified as the preferred location for the new regional complex. At one time, the property in Highlands Ranch, known as Wildcat Regional Park, was slated to include a large sports complex. However, the surrounding community is opposed to that idea, and the Board decided to preserve the Wildcat Regional Park area as open space and move the preferred location for a regional sports complex to Sterling Ranch.
On Oct. 14, 2025, Douglas County and Sterling Ranch agreed to the land transfer during a public business meeting. Details of the transfer include:
No. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued a closure letter confirming that the remediated DuPont/Chemours site required no further environmental cleanup, with remaining restricted parcels located outside the area proposed for the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex. Read the letter in the Additional Materials & Resources section below.
When land negotiations began for Zebulon, the County prudently completed its own environmental assessment and found four areas where chemicals were still present. Those areas are not included in the area the County is acquiring for Zebulon, with the exception of a small amount of PFAS (a chemical commonly found in cookware and firefighting foam) – which, at this time, is not required to be remediated.
As is the County’s practice with construction projects, the County will monitor environmental conditions during construction.
Thanks to voter approval to renew a 0.17% sales and use tax for the Parks, Trails, Historic Resources and Open Space Fund, the County–in partnership with Lone Tree, Parker and Castle Rock–announced historic investments in new park amenities across Douglas County.
A Certificate of Participation (COP) is a financing tool that allows investors to buy a share of lease revenues from a local government rather than purchasing a bond secured by those revenues. The County anticipates using COPs to fund portions of this project, while at the same time seeking equity partners.
Community feedback has been the driving force for the development of Zebulon Regional Sports Complex:
Zebulon is one of the Board’s priorities for voter-approved parks funding. Additionally, the County–in partnership with Lone Tree, Parker and Castle Rock–has announced historic investments in new parks amenities across Douglas County.
While part of the same voter-approved 2022 funding measure, funding for these park priorities is, per voter-approved ballot language, separate from funding for Open Space. Learn more about the Parks, Trails, Historic Resources and Open Space Fund.
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce provided an Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis on the proposed Zebulon and private development site, known as The Waterton West Development that 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.
