Ballot Question 303: Hughes Stadium

Hughes Stadium prior to its demolition (Credit: Jan Alexander)

Hughes Stadium:

Hughes Stadium was a college football stadium that housed Sonny Lubick Field, which was formerly the home of the Colorado State University Rams from its construction in 1968 until they moved to Canvas Stadium in 2017. It was torn down in 2018 by Colorado State University and sold for future development. The stadium is currently owned by the City of Fort Collins and is under community discussion over what its future will look like. 

Summary:

In 2021, a vote was cast by the citizens of Fort Collins that elected that the former Hughes Stadium be reorganised by the city as a Public Open Lands, and for it to be used for “parks, recreation and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and education" (What’s on the Ballot? || Elections).

The city reorganised the site and, in 2023, acquired the property for $12.7 million. It was later taken on as one of the city council’s 2024-2026 priorities.

An initiative amending the original terms of the petition so that 100% of the property be used as a City Natural Area was submitted to the city and certified to be part of the election coming on November 4th, 2025. 

This initiative was cast due to there being confusion among citizens and officials over what the previous petition’s terms had implied. From the citizen-initiated ordinance: “Since the passage of the ballot initiative and subsequent purchase of the former Hughes Stadium property, public discussions and stakeholder processes have occurred regarding the specific allowable future uses of the former Hughes Stadium property. Some residents and elected officials have expressed confusion about the ballot initiative's intent related to the future uses of the former Hughes Stadium property during those discussions and stakeholder processes.” Due to this, the initiative was submitted to designate the property in its entirety as a City Natural Area. 

Therefore, the ballot question 303 is really just a modification of the previous citizen initiative requiring the City of Fort Collins to rezone, acquire, and use the former Hughes Stadium property as a Public Open Lands, changing the terms to require the City of Fort Collins to designate 100% of the stadium as a City Natural Area. This means the site will be open to the public for recreational usage.

Ballot Question: 

Should the ordinance initiated in April of 2021, which required the City of Fort Collins to rezone and acquire the approximately 165-acre property of the former Hughes Stadium, be modified to require that the property be designated to be used 100% as a City Natural Area? 

What a “yes” vote means:

A “yes” vote would mean that the voter approves of the modification to the original petition to require that the former Hughes Stadium property to be fully designated as a City Natural Area.

What a “no” vote means:

A “no” vote would mean that the voter does not approve of the modification of the original petition and does not want to require that the former Hughes Stadium be designated fully as a City Natural Area. 

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A Poudre Press Writer