Ah, metropolitan cooperation at work.
If you just moved here from East Rutherford or West Covina, you are probably wondering about our recent outbreak in civic angst.
Gaylord Entertainment wants to spend 80 gadzillion dollars to build a giant hotel and conference center. And the National Western Stock Show wants to move next door to it, where it can construct larger, more modern facilities.
In almost any other area of the country, these plans would be greeted with loud huzzahs and hosannas. The sweet smell of economic growth! And do we ever need it!
Hold on, however. Here, there is a big problem. These projects are not to be built in Denver (aka, the “mother city”).
They would be built in . . . gasp! . . . Aurora — one of those awful, parasite cities that threaten to strangle the very economic life out of Denver.
If you are new around here, you need to understand the rules: If Denver can claim all or most of the benefits, we have what is officially known as “metro cooperation.” If not, we don’t have “cooperation.” Instead, there is much wringing of hands within the core city. This is accompanied by a media campaign to portray Denver as being on the brink of becoming a Third World country if but a single visitor dollar is diverted to Aurora.
History had been conveniently forgotten. To wit:
• When Denver needed to build a new airport, there was not the necessary vacant land within its boundaries. So it mounted a massive PR campaign to persuade Adams County voters (including a large part of Aurora) to allow Denver to annex land in the suburban county so it could build DIA.
When it was suggested that perhaps a metropolitan airport district could be formed so that suburban counties could assume some of the financial risk and also share part of the airport profits, they were rebuffed. The airport would be Denver’s or it would not be built at all, the Denver chieftains said.
So, the Adams County voters went along and allowed the “mother city” to build a new airport without any direct benefit to it or other metro counties.
• When a new baseball stadium was needed, a metro taxing district was formed, although the ballpark would, of course, be built in Denver (so that the downtown could be revitalized). Once again, voters from five suburban counties signed on to increase the local sales tax to make Coors Field a reality. Ironically, Denver voters turned down the proposal, which means that without the suburban residents agreeing to tax themselves, a different method of financing the ballpark would have had to be found.
The metro stadium district is now funding the new home of the Broncos — built in Denver, of course. Suburbanites are picking up most of the tab.
Few are complaining about the above. But when there is an opportunity for Adams County — and the entire metro area — to get some direct benefits from major developments, the generosity of suburbanites is somehow forgotten. Those buzzwords of other times — “we all benefit” and “metropolitan cooperation” — apply only if the project is to be built in Denver.
Don’t expect the return of any favors. Gaylord can develop somewhere else and the National Western can stay where it is.
That’s how things work around here.
Dick Hilker (dhilker529@) of Loveland is a retired suburban Denver newspaper editor. He was on the 2008 Colorado Voices panel.
