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Craig — Hayden town officials are preparing to apply for a $750,000 Greater Outdoors Colorado grant to help pay for a proposed Northwest Colorado Sports Complex.

And they're asking the Craig City Council for help in getting it.

Hayden town manager Russ Martin spoke to City Council members during Monday night's meeting about the possibility of city officials penning a letter of support for the sports complex. The letter would also agree to the city financially contributing to the project at a yet-to-be-determined dollar amount.

The town manager said Hayden is relying on similar participation from Steamboat Springs and Routt County governments.

"This is a regional project," Martin said, "and if it's not, it's not going to happen."

The complex would entail about 10 sports fields in Hayden, Martin said, at a cost of about $8.5 million.

Some council members verbally expressed support for the sports complex Monday night.

"It's centrally located," council member Bill Johnston said. "It makes a lot of sense."

"It's clearly an asset to the valley," council member Terry Carwile added.

The application for the GOCO grant, in this case a specialty grant Martin called a "legacy," is due Sept. 7. He said "legacy" grants are larger than typical grants and are not often available.

Martin said Steamboat Springs officials are building language for a support letter.

Craig city manager Jim Ferree said Craig council members would receive a draft of a letter supporting the sports complex at its next meeting, slated for Aug. 28. If council members agree with the language, the document could be approved and forwarded to Hayden to meet the September deadline.