From trash to treasure: lottery dollars convert a landfill into leisure space.

It wasn't Colorado's three-year drought that caused South Suburban Parks and Recreation to pursue the creation of an artificially turfed regional sports park. It was the park's former use as a landfill.

It couldn't be regularly watered because it could create a liability for underground water pollution, and increase methane gas production of the decomposing waste that lies buried beneath the park.

When it was first used in the mid-1960s, Arapahoe County's landfill was far south of Denver's metropolitan area. By 1985, the landfill became full and closed down. In the years since then, however, neighborhoods and businesses have opened on all sides.

Its location with a view of the Rocky Mountains would otherwise have made the site prime real estate. Because of concerns associated with water pollution and methane gas production, converting the land to other uses was problematic. In addition, the water and sewer utilities necessary to make the parcel viable for traditional uses were not possible.

Meanwhile, the population in the South Suburban District more than tripled in 40 years, and continues to grow. According to the district's registration counts, participation in its youth sports programs has increased more than 270 percent since 1989, creating the need for new athletic fields.

Converting the 85-acre landfill into athletic fields was realized by quality partnerships with Arapahoe County, which provided a lease on the property for $1 a year; a $3 million general obligation bond for a laundry list of capital construction projects that funded the bulk of the construction for the sports park; and the district used $150,000 of its share of Colorado Lottery proceeds to complete the project.

In 2003 South Suburban received nearly $684,000 in Lottery Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) revenues. Forty percent of all lottery proceeds go into the Conservation Trust Fund. The money is distributed to the state's local governments on a per capita basis by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

Those monies are to be used for developing parks and recreation facilities. Colorado Lottery proceeds also go to support state parks, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, open space, trails and conservation education through the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund and Colorado State Parks.

Because blue grass was not an option for what was to become the David A. Lorenz Regional Park, synthetic turf was used on all the sports fields. South Suburban Marketing Specialist Chris McGrath says that many players prefer it. "I like it better," says McGrath, "because it provides more cushioning than grass, and the field is more consistent, with no bare spots or divots." Although the surface radiates more heat than blue grass, McGrath says there have been no complaints from players, even through the summer.

Waste Management of Colorado, the contractor that operates the methane gas collection system, has donated $10,000 for the design and construction of an instructional kiosk about the massive recycling project. "We wanted to create a kiosk to show people what was under their feet," says Bill Woodcock, South Suburban's manager of planning and construction. The interpretive display will allow park visitors a chance to view examples of "vintage" trash from across the decades.

Currently, the 140-acre park offers a baseball/softball field and two multi-purpose fields, parking, a BMX track, 18-hole disc ("Frisbee") golf course and a one-acre off-leash dogpark. Future phases will see the addition of five more multipurpose fields, three more ball fields, two inline hockey rinks, a skatepark and a loop trail.