Filed Under Parks

Copper Mountain Sports and Recreation Complex

What started out as a landfill is now a premier sports and recreation complex. The Atlantic Richfield Company pledged to spend $2.3 million on a park to serve as a waste cap if allowed to dump Colorado tailings in a repository on the site. It was agreed upon and construction began in 1997. Shortly afterwards it was realized that the ground water in the area was insufficient for irrigation needs and a pipeline was built to bring water in from Silver Lake. The complex was finally opened in August of 2001.

The complex includes a playground, a driving range, fishing pond, folf course, Little Guy Football fields, and Three Legends baseball stadium. The stadium is named in honor of Jack Whelan, Jim “Fonz” Hanley, and Jack Cavanaugh who were all instrumental in American Legion baseball in Butte.

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Metadata

Lindsay Mulcahy, “Copper Mountain Sports and Recreation Complex,” Story of Butte, accessed October 22, 2024, https://storyofbutte.org/items/show/3442.