Rodeo's britches tight and raggedy

National Western laments upkeep costs, will explore relocating

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 25, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Photo by Photos By Carmel Zucker / Special to the Rocky

National Western's Pat Grant says one person likened keeping up the 1909 arena and facilities to "putting lipstick on a pig."

National Western's Pat Grant says one person likened keeping up the 1909 arena and facilities to "putting lipstick on a pig."

National Western's Pat Grant says one person likened keeping up the 1909 arena and facilities to "putting lipstick on a pig."

National Western Stock Show officials say they will make a decision this year on whether the show should - or can - move to another location.

The board of directors and executive committee for the National Western Stock Show Association will meet later this year to address concerns with aging facilities and outgrowing their current digs.

"We are facing a significant and strategic issue," said Pat Grant, executive director for the National Western. "We could put money in shoring up and repairing and rebuilding some of our facilities, but as one person said, to do so would be putting lipstick on a pig."

Last fiscal year, which ended on March, 31, 2007, National Western spent $325,552 on repairs and renovations for various buildings and other infrastructure. "We can't afford to run that kind of money year after year," Grant said.

Part of the problem is that many of the buildings are aging. The stadium arena, for example, was built in 1909. Last February, the northwest parapet collapsed onto the adjacent roof of the Hall of Education.

A $35,000 engineering study of the stadium arena indicated it was still structurally sound, but about $25,000 to $35,000 was spent on shoring up other parts of the arena roof."It's a wonderful historic building, but we have increasing repair and maintenance obligations," Grant said.

Even relatively new buildings, such as the Expo Hall, built in 1991, are showing their age. Cement steps had to be replaced two years ago to the tune of $600,000, according to Jeff Childs, controller for National Western. Even with the replacements, cracks still form and the metal bits are rusting.

Most pens in the cattle yards - a popular aspect of the stock show - are 80 years old, and still use original wooden fencing. But every year about $30,000 to $40,000 is set aside to replace or repair the pens.

Grant said other buildings are becoming too cramped for use by the stock show, which has grown in attendance and participation in recent years. The Denver Coliseum, which the stock show leases but does not own, is 55 years old. "It lacks the public amenities of the new public arenas, and it has, on occasion, poor quality air," Grant said.

He also said that other notable stock shows and rodeos have been making improvements to their facilities - and many have a lot more space. The National Western owns 95 acres but has few options to expand on site. "When we compare our land area to other major rodeo shows, the norm is 200 to 250 acres, and we're well shy of that standard," Grant said.

For that reason, for the past two years, the executive committee for National Western has been looking at long-term options for improving the stock show.

One is to move.Grant cited a study showing it would cost more if the stock show were to stay and renovate, than it would to relocate and build from scratch. If it moves, he said the stock show is envisioning a new $200 million to $250 million complex on 200 to 250 acres of land.

But under an agreement with Denver in 1989, when the stock show obtained $30 million in bond money to build three new structures - the Expo Hall, the Stadium Hall and and addition to the Hall of Education - National Western promised to stay in Denver for 50 years.

It isn't known whether the city would be willing to release the stock show from that agreement.

Sue Cobb, spokeswoman for Mayor John Hickenlooper, said the city doesn't have enough information at this point to make such a decision. "The stock show does have a long-term lease with the city, but we've had no substantive discussions about a change in that," she said.

Stock show officials said they are looking at options such as asking for public funding, private financing and the selling of stock show assets to pay for possible relocation.

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