Chances for a successful deal to move the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo to a new site near Denver International Airport got a lot brighter last week.
The willingness that a majority of Aurora City Council members have expressed in considering a Denver annexation of the stock show’s proposed new home gives us hope the deal might have a chance with voters.
There still are a lot of details to work out, but giving the facility a Denver address may provide city voters a reason to agree to move the stock show out of its aging facility — although the $150 million price tag remains a major obstacle.
Without such a concession, we are not sure the measure would have a chance at the polls.
How could you expect Denver voters to approve raising taxes to issue $150 million in bonds when the facility would be moving to Aurora? The deal, in our opinion, faced an uphill battle.
A Post story last week by reporter Margaret Jackson said at least seven of Aurora’s 10 council members would be willing to consider allowing Denver to annex the new stock show site in exchange for some yet-to-be-named Denver property to go to Aurora.
It would be a complicated deal, given the formalities involved in annexation, but something to seriously consider. A lot is at stake.
The stock show is a Denver institution with a history that goes back more than 100 years. It has been apparent for some time that the stock show has outgrown its north Denver facility, which is hemmed in by a highway, railroad tracks and a neighborhood. It needs a new home.
A proposal by Gaylord Entertainment to build a 1,500-room hotel and a conference center near DIA seemed to pose a perfect opportunity to pair the projects and apply for millions in state tax rebates.
However, when it became apparent that the new, 300-acre stock show facility would actually be within Aurora and not on DIA land near Aurora’s border, the politics of the deal became a lot more difficult.
That’s because the financing of the deal as initially proposed depended upon Denver voters approving an increase in taxes, while no other taxpayers would be asked to make a similar sacrifice.
The new deal, while more palatable, may not ease the concerns of those who worry about the impact the complex might have on existing downtown businesses.
Studies are under way to assess the effects of the hotel project, and we look forward to seeing the results of that work.
In the meantime, we’re heartened to see what we think is a positive development in making the stock show move more palatable to taxpayers who would be asked to partially underwrite it.
