Civic leaders are considering a massive overhaul of the National Western Complex into a year- round facility for rodeo, stock shows and entertainment, similar to those in Fort Worth, Texas, and Calgary, Alberta.
“We’re thinking strategically so the National Western Complex becomes a Western- heritage center for the country,” said Pat Grant, president and chief executive of the Western Stock Show Association since 1991. “This is a major vision, not filling a couple potholes.”
Grant said the current site at Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard could be overhauled with new venues if it was expanded to the north.
“Where we are is the preferred location,” he said. “But we cannot preclude a relocation” in the metro area.
The commitment to stay in the metro area is firm, he said.
“If we need significantly more land, what we’ve talked about is property near DIA,” he said, referring to Denver International Airport.
Separately, Grant has looked at land off East 56th Avenue south of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
To the northwest of that site is the planned Prairie Gateway development. The first phase is a $130 million, 18,000-seat soccer stadium for the Colorado Rapids being built by Kroenke Sports Enterprises in partnership with Commerce City, slated to open in April 2007.
For years, Grant, civic leaders and stock show attendees have said that the current 90-acre stock show grounds are constricted and constrained. A potential re-routing or widening of I-70 in that corridor is a big question mark for the facility.
What’s new is that Grant and city officials are envisioning and discussing a world-class events center along the lines of Calgary Stampede Park in Alberta and the Fort Worth Stock Show and related entertainment venues in Texas. Both locations report drawing tens of thousands of visitors year-round with stock shows, fairs, concerts, restaurants and other attractions, pumping millions of dollars into local economies.
“The time is now to begin looking at the stock show in a more serious light,” said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who toured the Fort Worth venues Friday with Grant, Denver economic development chief John Huggins, City Attorney Cole Finegan, Gov. Bill Owens’ chief of staff, Bob Lee, and four representatives of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, including president Joe Blake.
“Denver should be a partner in this with rural areas of Colorado,” said Hickenlooper, who in April visited the Calgary Stampede with Grant as part of a trade mission. “It requires getting a state task force together. What is our capacity, where is the money best spent, and how much will it cost? How can we get this to be the best?”
Neither Hickenlooper nor Grant would speculate on the price tag for new facilities or what combination of public and private funds might be proposed.
Hickenlooper said he could envision a new National Western Complex that incorporated other athletic facilities, with a capacity of up to 12,000 seats. The Denver Coliseum, where the stock- show rodeo is held, seats 8,300.
“There are no facilities in the region to play championship high-school basketball and ice hockey games,” he said.
Education is another key aspect to consider, officials said.
The association that Grant heads is a nonprofit whose mission is agricultural education. He said he would like to involve Denver Public Schools – as well as Colorado State University and the University of Colorado – in discussions and partnerships for a new vision of the National Western Complex.
The National Western Stock Show & Rodeo will celebrate its 100th anniversary in January.
In past years, the 16-day event has drawn 630,000 visitors.
It generates $80 million in spending, according to a 1998 study, the last time one was done, Grant said.
The rest of each year, the facilities are rented out for various trade groups and events but don’t match the muscle of Fort Worth and Calgary venues.
Grant said the Stock Show Association will devise a strategic plan in the next 18 months, which is within the time frame of an environmental-impact statement that will guide recommendations by the Colorado Department of Transportation about I-70 in that area.
The association has a 50-year contract with the city signed in 1990 as part of a 1989 taxpayer bond issue for $30 million of improvements.
Business editor Stephen Keating can be reached at 303-820-1306 or skeating@denverpost.com.
