A joint NASCAR racetrack and new National Western Stock Show complex in Aurora could still happen even though stock show officials won’t seek voter approval this fall to help fund the plan.
Stock show president Pat Grant and chairman Jerry McMorris in January said they were hopeful such a ballot initiative might go to voters this fall.
But Grant said Tuesday that won’t happen — at least not this year. He didn’t say why plans had changed.
Aurora officials believe the track and stock show facility can be built on a 1,000-acre site near Denver International Airport.
Stock show leaders this year revealed plans to move from a 95-acre home north of downtown Denver to near DIA.
That’s also a metro-area location the International Speedway Corp. in Florida is considering for a NASCAR track.
The combined project, which would cost up to $800 million, would require significant public funding, some of which would have to be approved by voters.
The stock show, now 102 years old, is in need of a new site and facilities.
So stock show officials began talks with ISC about building both complexes at the site near DIA or at another Aurora site near Front Range Airport.
ISC officials said there isn’t anything new to report on negotiations. But in a written statement, ISC spokesman Wes Harris said the company is still “very much interested” in the Denver area, but he did not put a timetable on when an announcement might come.
ISC has been working with local officials to secure a commitment for a public-private partnership to help finance the track. That could mean, for example, creating a special taxing district similar to one used to finance Invesco Field at Mile High.
In a separate measure, Aurora would have to ask for voter approval to change the city charter to allow it to offer incentives in infrastructure, such as roads to the site and water and sewer.
