DENVER — The Denver City Council on Monday authorized the city to spend more than $800 million over the next 35 years to expand the National Western Center.
The project will include the construction of a 160-room hotel, a 4,500-seat equestrian center, a parking garage, and income-restricted housing.
The plan to redevelop the area and turn it into a year-round destination has been years in the making. However, Monday's vote was not unanimous.
The Denver City Council approved the project in a 9-4 vote. Council members Sarah Parady, Shontel Lewis, Jamie Torres, and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez voted against the measure. Council member Darrell Watson, who represents the area, voted for the measure, calling it a "win-win" for everyone.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston released a statement after the city council's vote, saying, "There is no more cherished tradition in Denver than the Stock Show. Today, we are further committing to carrying that feeling throughout the rest of the year with events, entertainment, and a renewed dedication to putting people to work and improving the lives of neighbors through sustained – and lasting – trust and partnership.”
The project is not without controversy. Some community members in the nearby Elyria-Swansea neighborhood have raised concerns about the plan.
“It continues to steamroll forward, and it continues to do so without any accountability for the public dollars being invested,” said Swansea resident Candi CdeBaca, a former Denver City Council member.
CdeBaca and others worry the project will displace people in the neighborhood.
“Our biggest concern in this community obviously is displacement,” she said.
People living in the area have been displaced before, like when Interstate 70 expanded. CdeBaca worries it will happen again with people being priced out of their homes.
"We've been fighting this fight for a very long time,” she said.
Sarah Lake, who led a successful campaign against a 2021 bond measure to build a new arena on the National Western Center campus, said building a new hotel and equestrian center is reckless.
“Just four years ago, voters overwhelmingly rejected spending $190 million to build the National Western Arena,” said Lake. “And now, here they are coming back, asking for four times that amount of money to build an equestrian center. So, it seems like it's both economically reckless but also against the will of the voters who've already said this isn't how they want their taxpayer dollars to be spent.”
Lance Nading, a local property owner who was appointed by the mayor to serve on a community outreach work group, said he is connected to the success of the National Western Center and its full development. However, he believes the National Western Center Authority needs to do a much better job of communicating with community leaders.
“They don't engage with the actual leaders of GES in a meaningful way, so the end result is there's a disconnect,” said Nading. “They do get community members to show up to their meetings. Sadly and unfortunately, they are not the true voices of the leaders in the GES (Globeville Elyria Swansea) communities. They're just not.”
Sandra Ruiz Parilla and Nancy Santos are two GES community members who say they were very involved in providing ideas for the project. They believe it will be a great benefit to the community.
“We need to have neighborhoods being beautified,” said Ruiz Parilla. “But to be able to have that, we also need these kinds of developments that can offer those jobs, that can offer opportunities, that can offer better things for our communities."
“The most important things for me are the opportunities they're going to give the community,” added Santos.
- Watch our previous coverage of the project below
Ruiz Parilla told Denver7 she’s also concerned about displacement.
“The largest displacement in the community wasn’t the National Western Center, it was the I-70 project,” she said. “I was fighting to stop the I-70 project.”
Ruiz Parilla said she’s not blind to the challenges that the GES could face with gentrification. However, she believes the project will provide important opportunities for better jobs and education.
“Those are things we need,” she said.
As for CdeBaca, she and other community members asked the National Western Center Authority and the city to invest $16 million upfront into the GES Community Investment Fund (CIF) to pay for projects that could prevent displacement. She said this could include projects like a childcare center and housing.
The $16 million represented one percent of the total $1.6 billion in bond funds voters approved in 2015. The plan the city council approved will provide $9 million to the community investment fund over 35 years.
“$9 million over 35 years is absurd,” said CdeBaca. “That's insufficient, and it can't help the community right now."
While they weren’t successful in getting the city council to vote down the expansion project, CdeBaca said they’re not giving up.
“Well, if anyone knows anything about this community, they know that we are well organized and will continue to fight until we can't fight anymore,” she said.
Construction on the National Western Center expansion is expected to start this fall.
The project is one of three major initiatives Johnston's administration has pushed through the city council in the last month. The other initiatives include the Park Hill acquisition and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) intergovernmental agreement.
