Denver is in the running for United Airlines’ headquarters as the world’s second-largest airline considers moving from suburban Chicago.
“They’re looking at downtown Chicago and Denver,” said Paul O’Connor, executive director of World Business Chicago, an economic development corporation trying to keep United in Chicago.
Crain’s Chicago Business first reported the news online Wednesday, saying United would make a decision by Labor Day and move in by early next year. Crain’s also cited San Francisco as a possible United headquarters location.
United is seeking about 150,000 square feet to house 350 headquarters employees, O’Connor said.
Metro Denver officials welcomed the possibility.
If United moved to Denver, “it would be significant, both in terms of real payrolls and also in terms of the marketing and public relations value,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. “This would be exactly the kind of employer we would like to see here. … It would be a very, very happy day in Colorado.”
“We are looking at how best to optimize and consolidate our facilities,” said United spokeswoman Jean Medina. “Beyond that, it’s premature to speculate what that might mean.”
United, which employs 57,000 people, ranks 124th on the Fortune 500 list of top U.S. companies, with annual revenues of $17.38 billion. Qwest, currently Colorado’s largest company by revenues, ranks 160th.
United chief executive Glenn Tilton has called Denver his company’s “second home” after Chicago, where it employs an estimated 16,000 people. United’s other major hubs are in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington.
United employs more than 5,000 people in Colorado, trains thousands of flight crew members each year at its flight training center here and launched its discount airline, Ted, from Denver International Airport in 2004.
Denver has emerged as a battleground for discount air travel, with Frontier Airlines based here and Southwest Airlines having launched service here in January.
While Denver may have its attractions for United, the city can expect a battle with Chicago.
“I think the mayor, the governor of Illinois and the entire business community of Chicago will weigh in, just to tell (United) how important they are and how much we love them,” O’Connor said.
United owns a large headquarters facility in Elk Grove Village, Ill., a short cab ride from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where United has its largest hub.United’s long-standing ties to Chicago raises questions about whether United is really interested in moving to Denver.
When asked that question, Clark said: “Are they playing Chicago against the rest of us? I would really doubt that. Nobody wants to be in that position.”
Wendy Mitchell, president of the Aurora Economic Development Council, said she knew of no meetings by local representatives with United.
Susan Stanton, vice president of the DIA Partnership, said officials there have heard speculation about a possible United relocation to Denver. “We’ve been hearing about it,” she said, “but it sounds like discussions might be (heating up).”
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper was traveling back from Washington and was not available for comment.
“We have had discussion with United regarding various aspect of their operations,” said John Huggins, head of Denver’s office of economic development. “They are a major employer in Denver, and we would love to have more of their employment.”
Colorado has been down that road before. In 1991, local officials offered United more than $300 million to build a maintenance center in Denver but lost out to Indianapolis. United shut the facility in 2003 in the midst of a 2002 bankruptcy. United emerged from bankruptcy this year.
In 2001, Denver lost out to Chicago for aerospace company Boeing Co.’s headquarters, which moved from Seattle.
Denver and Colorado were prepared to pay up to $28 million in tax breaks to lure Boeing’s 500 headquarters jobs. Chicago offered $53 million in state and local incentives and won the headquarters.
United was integral to helping Chicago officials woo Boeing.
During a Colorado leadership exchange trip to Dallas last year, Tilton and Hickenlooper told The Denver Post that they would work together to recruit companies to relocate to Denver.
Tilton said attracting such firms to Denver would help increase the number of international flights to and from DIA.
“It’s a chicken-and-egg problem,” said Tilton, meaning that increased demand for international flights for corporate business travel would drive the supply at DIA.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
