Multigen-aquatic center, regional park branded

The Maricopa City Council voted Tuesday to name the city’s multigenerational-aquatic center and regional park Copper Sky Recreation Complex to capture the sunsets seen from Maricopa and ignite a brand name to attract visitors from outside the city.

“If you think about it, everyone remarks on the great sunsets in Arizona, and in Maricopa as well,” Jennifer Campbell, the city’s community services director, told the council before the vote.

Besides creating a recreation facility for local residents, she said the city hopes the multigenerational center and regional park will attract tourists, sporting events, concerts and festivals from around the state.

“We wanted to be marketing around Phoenix and Arizona,” she said, adding it was important to create a brand name not already in use.

Members of the council’s Marketing and Communications Subcommittee recommended the name after consulting with residents and the city’s Parks, Recreation and Library Advisory Committee.

Public input was sought through an online survey on the city’s website and city newsletters emailed to 3,000 subscribers. The city also reached out to city vendors and businesses to see if any were interested in sponsoring the facility in exchange for naming rights, but no applicable responses were received.

Twenty-five people responded to the survey.

Other names under consideration included Desert Oasis, Quail Vista, Estrella Vista and Rio Bravo.

Mayor Christian Price and Vice Mayor Ed Farrell said before the vote they had seen the recommendation by the marketing and communications subcommittee and Farrell said “eyes just lit up when the name was said.”

Price said, “I really like the Copper Sky name. … Copper Sky Recreation Complex just rolls off the tongue and invokes colors.”

The vote for the name was unanimous.