The National Western Stock Show has become, over the course of the last two decades, a victim of its own success.
Attendance has tripled, and the event is considered to be among the nation’s top tier of livestock and horse shows. The show, ensconced in Denver for the last century, is at a crossroads.
It has outgrown its cramped complex in northeast Denver, and this past week its leaders floated an idea to build a new home for the show outside Denver city limits in partnership with a NASCAR race track.
Voters will pick up part of the tab.
We think the plan has promise, but the stock show’s leadership will need to do a lot in the way of building public support for what certainly would be a significant commitment of tax dollars.
The National Western Stock Show, Rodeo & Horse Show, as it’s called now, is a Colorado institution. It provides a link to our heritage and it’s a great regional economic generator.
But taxpayers, who might see a public financing ballot question before them in November, will need to understand why the move is necessary and how the region will benefit. Unfortunately, recession fears could complicate that public dialogue.
Last week, Pat Grant, National Western president and chief executive officer, and Jerry McMorris, its board chairman, visited the Denver Post editorial board to discuss the show’s future.
They talked about hopes they could forge a partnership with International Speedway Corporation Motorsports, the largest promoter of NASCAR racing in the country. Florida-based ISC owns or operates numerous tracks around the country.
The National Western folks are hoping they can find a way to share a new complex with a partner that has similar infrastructure needs, such as ample parking. But its partner would need to be an entity that has events at different times of the year.
On that count, a partnership with ISC would work out well. Racing events could be in the summer, while the stock show takes place in January.
If the proposal were to move forward, there are several important issues that would need to be addressed. They include economic worries about moving the show out of Denver city limits, how a NASCAR track would impact neighbors at a new location, how to maintain that Western tradition at a new site so it doesn’t have the feel of a megaplex, and how to best redevelop the existing National Western 95-acre site.
While Grant and McMorris declined to be specific about the location of a new site, they said it would be a 1,000-acre parcel near Denver International Airport. As for worries that the economic impact would leave Denver, we think there’s a compelling argument to be made that the stock show’s 750,000 attendees would still generate cash for Denver and that visitors would look to the city for lodging and entertainment.
And since the area is not highly developed, it’s likely the site wouldn’t have close neighbors to be offended by a race track. Grant and McMorris are keenly aware of the need to design a new home that evokes the tradition and feel of the stock show grounds, and spoke of relocating or replicating the historic Livestock Exchange Building.
As for the current grounds, if the stock show were to leave, it could present a great opportunity for in-town redevelopment, particularly since an RTD FasTracks line borders the site.
There’s a lot to like about the proposal, and we wish the stock show well, but executives have a long way to go in disclosing specifics and making the case that it’s a good public investment.
