Settled in the late nineteenth century along the Burlington Railroad line, the area originally developed as a farming community known as Zang’s Spur. It was named after Philip Zang, a Denver brewing tycoon who raised thoroughbred horses in the valley. The town was officially incorporated as Broomfield in 1955, taking its name from the plentiful broom corn grown in the local fields. Broomfield has a unique status as Colorado’s only consolidated city and county, a designation established in 2001 to unify municipal management that had previously spanned Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld counties. The municipal sports complex, which includes the skatepark and batting cages, reflects this civic spirit.
Adjacent to the municipal batting cages, the Broomfield Skatepark has a rich history that mirrors the development of action sports in the Front Range. In the late 1990s, local skaters used temporary wooden ramps set up on an asphalt slab before the adoption of poured-concrete parks became standard across Colorado. Collaborating with world-renowned builders Team Pain, the city replaced the wooden ramps with a custom concrete facility designed around the existing slab and drain lines. Today, the skatepark features a spacious layout with two distinct concrete bowls, including a kidney pool equipped with pool coping, tile, and stairs. It also has an expansive street plaza filled with hubba ledges, stair sets, handrails, embankments, and custom concrete art pieces. Additionally, the park features a purple memorial bench dedicated to Chad Britton, a 16-year-old Broomfield High School student and local skater who tragically passed away in 2014. The bench bears angel wings and the phrase “Heaven is a Halfpipe” in tribute to his passion for skateboarding.
