Colorado was on track to pay Pueblo two to three times as much as it should have in incentives for a Professional Bull Riders University and convention center expansion under the Regional Tourism Act.
The award, initially estimated at $43.9 million across as many as 50 years, will have to be sharply lowered, something Pueblo officials agreed to do on Thursday, said Fiona Arnold, director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
The third-party analyst who has worked on all RTA applications made the math error, something state staff discovered after comparing reports from Pueblo with other RTA projects.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission, which approved the award in 2012 and had signed an agreement with Pueblo, was informed of the error Thursday morning.
Arnold and other officials went to Pueblo with hat in hand. Although surprised to learn of the miscalculation, officials there agreed to accept an adjusted number once it is calculated.
The mistake was caught early enough, before the projects were built and generating additional tax revenues, so as to not disadvantage taxpayers, Arnold said.
Pueblo had sought and failed to receive backing for a bond financing, even with the exaggerated state payout, and will instead turn to a city loan to get the development off the ground.
Fixing the error would have proved much more problematic had investors purchased bonds or notes based on an inflated state contribution.
Arnold said the ratios used in other RTA projects have been reviewed and the mistake was specific to Pueblo, which until now seemed to in an otherwise troubled incentive program.
Aurora has fended off multiple lawsuits and faced regional opposition to the 1,500-room Gaylord Rockies conference hotel that also is being funded under the RTA program.
