Denverites might get a kick out of the city’s latest effort to activate downtown. On Tuesday, city leaders and their partners cut the ribbon on two new soccer arenas at Skyline Park.

“This is just the beginning of what’s coming to downtown Denver that’s going to be awesome and exciting,” Jolon Clark, head of Denver Parks and Recreation, shouted to a crowd of kids waiting to play after the opening ceremony.

The project is part of an overall revamp for the three-block greenspace, which sits in the shadow of the Daniels and Fisher clocktower. But officials were clear that the new play space aims to achieve even larger goals.

Denver’s urban core has stagnated for years, thanks to COVID lockdowns and prohibitive construction on 16th Street. City leaders, especially Mayor Mike Johnston, have

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