October 9, 2025, by Rebecca Powell | Fort Collins Coloradoan
Key Points:
- A 2021 vote required the city to purchase the land from Colorado State University and zone it for public open lands.
- A citizens group, PATHS, initiated measure 303 to designate the site as a natural area with low-impact recreation.
- The City Council placed measure 2H on the ballot, which supports a multiuse plan recommended by a civic assembly.
Campaign signs are going up, urging Fort Collins residents to vote one way or another on Ballot Question 303, “a 100% Hughes natural area for all,” and Ballot Question 2H, which calls for a “Hughes for everyone.”
Those signs are, of course, a reference to the former Colorado State University Hughes Stadium land in west Fort Collins that is now owned by the city.
But if you’re a newcomer to Fort Collins, or it simply hasn’t been on your radar until now, you might not understand why this is even up for a vote.
Read on to find out how we got to this point from the original development of Hughes Stadium and why there are two questions on the November ballot regarding the site.
First, CSU closed its football stadium
For almost 50 years, Hughes Stadium was the home of CSU Rams football.
Starting in 1968, the stadium sat on what was then CSU property, west of Overland Trail between Drake and Prospect roads.
But in 2012, CSU announced plans to build a new on-campus stadium. (That plan sparked some organized opposition, which is a different long story.)
So flash forward to 2016, and CSU’s plans had moved ahead: The Rams had their final game at Hughes. In 2018, the stadium was demolished, and CSU had plans to redevelop the site into housing.
Voters then required the city to buy the land and zone it as public open lands
But that didn’t sit well with some Fort Collins residents who felt the site should become open space or creative low-density development, according to Coloradoan reporting from that time.
Grassroots group PATHS, or Planning Action to Transform Hughes Sustainably, formed to influence the outcome, and they eventually got a measure on the ballot asking voters to require the city of Fort Collins to purchase the land from CSU and zone it as public open lands.
That measure passed in 2021 with 69% support.
So, the city of Fort Collins purchased the land for $12.5 million in 2023 and zoned it as public open lands.
That wasn’t the end of the road.
Ideas for how to use the land started coming in
After the measure passed, city staff started conducting outreach to hear specifically what residents wanted to do with the site, noting the ballot language set the following parameters: “for parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration.”
Two rounds of surveys went out, and one of the executive summaries revealed some different points of view.
“For some, it means a place for people of all ages and abilities to ride a bike in a safe, closed, family-oriented environment. For others, it means a place to demonstrate how to restore native grassland habitat and together ‘do the right thing’ to create an accessible and balanced space. For others, that could mean a place where little happens beyond current activities, with the addition of a few amenities such as a basic restroom, some signage, more parking, and the continuation of sledding and disc golfing at the site.”
The city’s survey also showed a desire for collaboration with the Indigenous community and a gathering area for their activities.
Some community members started advocating for their ideas before the City Council. One of those ideas was for a bike skills park.
PATHS continued to advocate for keeping the site essentially as-is.
In 2024, the current City Council set 11 priorities for its term, and coming up with a site plan for the former Hughes land was one of them.
City Council commissioned a citizen assembly to study and make recommendations
Council members soon noticed the complexity of making such a decision due to many interest groups and potential polarization in the community.
In 2024, City Council authorized forming a “civic assembly,” with help from nonprofit civic organizations like Healthy Democracy, in hopes of gathering information in a way that turns down the heat, engages the silent majority and uses collaborative problem solving.
The delegates to the assembly were randomly selected but meant to be representative of Fort Collins.
Any idea for the site had to have at least 75% support within the group to become a recommendation.
The civic assembly met for two full weekends in spring 2025 and released their recommendations for a multiuse concept that could include a bike park, open spaces, a natural area and conservation/education features.
Their final report also emphasized that there should be consultation with Indigenous groups throughout the development of the site.
During the past few years, Indigenous people have advocated for the Hughes land to go back to Native stewardship or at least for a show of respect for the spirit of the land that was used by multiple tribes.
Citizens group gathers signatures to put Hughes natural area question on ballot
As the civic assembly began, PATHS organizers started gathering signatures for another ballot question, known today as 303, that would ask voters to require the site to become a city-managed natural area.
PATHS organizers said other ideas being proposed for the site, such as the bike park, didn’t align with the intent of the 2021 ballot measure.
They believe that intent was made clear in the ordinance that accompanied the ballot question: to conserve the site as a protected open space, like a natural area, potentially with a small wildlife center and low-impact recreation.
But that’s been a big source of contention. Not everyone has agreed with that assessment, including some who helped campaign for the 2021 ballot measure.
The city’s outreach summary indicated that community members expressed confusion about the terms “public open lands” and “natural areas,” saying those terms and others, like “parks” and “recreation” mean different things to different people.
The 2021 ballot language is legally binding, city staff have said, allowing for “parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration.”
So, PATHS organizers pursued Ballot Question 303 to settle the issue once and for all.
City Council puts citizen assembly recommendations on ballot
Four months after the civic assembly recommendations came out, council acted on them in two different ways.
First, it passed a resolution supporting the multiuse plan that the supermajority recommended.
Second, the council referred an item to the ballot, now known as 2H, asking voters to weigh in on whether they support those recommendations.
PATHS organizers feel the additional ballot measure makes it confusing for voters.
And the only City Council member to oppose sending 2H to the ballot said it undermines the work of the citizen signature gatherers, who face a greater burden to get something on the ballot than council does.
But other council members said the vote of the people is the ultimate guide, especially when there has been contention around the issue and skepticism of the civic assembly.More: What would it cost to turn Hughes into a natural area vs. multiuse site? What we know
What happens if both measures pass?
If both questions get more than 50% approval, then the question with the most “yes” votes would take effect.
What happens if both measures fail?
If neither measure gets more than 50% approval, then the City Council would retain the ability to set the course for the Hughes site.
Notably, the council has already passed a resolution supporting the civic assembly’s multiuse recommendations.
This election, however, could bring up to four new faces to council. That new council could choose to stay the course with multiuse, opt to go a different direction or even take something to the voters again.
Read the original article here.
