Business View Magazine | August 2019

209 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 intended as a cooperative farming venture built on the concept of abstinence from alcohol and the promulgation of other “high moral standards.” “They arrived in the late1860s and, in 1869, they laid out three parks in Greeley,” Welch continues. “Island Grove was one of those parks. There was also Lincoln Park and Washington Park. Two of them exist now - Lincoln Park is actually the hub of our downtown area, and Island Grove is 165 acres that then became a meeting place for the Union Colony, which, in 1877, became Greeley.” Over the years, both Greeley and Island Grove grew and changed with the times. “At one point it had a zoo,” Welch recounts. “In fact, one of the main things in my office is the buffalo head of Bowser, who was the largest bison in any zoo in the United States at the time of his death. That zoo was in use until 1977, and roughly at the same time, we had a large arena which had a half-mile horse track in it, which they used for horse racing and motorcycle racing. In 1975, that arena burned down, and the city, along with some partners, raised money to start building a new arena. I moved to Greeley in 1977 and my second job here was helping to build this arena – I was a foreman on one of the concrete crews. So, I actually worked in this park before I worked in this park. In 1984, I got a job with the city’s Parks Department and in ’89, I ended up being transferred to this park and I became the manager in 2000.” Today, Island Grove is a multi-faceted event center in one of Colorado and the nation’s fastest growing population and economic centers. It is owned by the City of Greeley and Weld County, and managed, through an intergovernmental agreement, by the City of Greely. The 165-acre park has eight buildings, including 150,000 square feet of exhibition space; three pavilions; four outdoor arenas, including a 9,000- seat rodeo arena; 150 horse stalls; approximately 300 RV hook-ups; 10 acres of natural grass multi-use sport fields; a new “sports turf” softball/soccer field; 27 acres of “run barefoot through the grass” bluegrass turf; a splash park; Aven’s Village, the region’s newest all-inclusive and accessible playground; and Centennial Village Museum, a living history I SLAND GROVE PARK