Denver Aims To Transform National Western Complex Into Year-Round Facility
DENVER (CBS4) - Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Thursday outlined plans to spruce up the National Western Complex and turn it into a facility that hosts events throughout the year.
Mostly synonymous with the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, the venue isn't used much beyond two weeks during that annual event. The stock show attracts hundreds of thousands every winter, but the site sits dormant for much of the year.
The mayor's plan would renovate or replace many of the current buildings on the 109-year site. Improvements would include a new arena and stockyards that would double as an outdoor events center. The city also wants to add a transit center and move railroad tracks to increase space near the river.
"The long-range, multi-phase plan for the new National Western Center is to create a dynamic, year-round campus of new and adaptive reuse buildings that, at full build-out, will drive nearly 1 million additional visitors on an annual basis," Hancock said at a news conference on Thursday.
The city on its website calls for increasing the campus to 130 acres. The city said the center will "support Denver's global standing as a world-class hub for the Western way of life."
National Western President Paul Andrews said the proposed changes will attract some of the biggest and best shows from around the world.
"I gotta tell ya. I'm easily the most excited cowboy in the room right now," Andrews said.
The plan will likely take more than a decade, the mayor said. Costs and sources for capital are unclear, but Hancock said all revenue sources -- including asking for tax increases -- are possible.