The 118th edition of the National Western Stock Show officially kicks off this weekend on its historic stomping grounds, which are in the middle of a makeover to turn the 250-acre complex in northeast Denver into a year-round attraction.
Depending on the weather, the 16-day event could set an attendance record, said Paul Andrews, stock show CEO and president. The record is 726,927 visitors, set in 2006 on the event’s 100th anniversary.
Last year’s total of approximately 702,000 visitors was the stock show’s fourth-highest mark and a solid return to pre-pandemic numbers. Andrews believes this year’s attendance could range from 650,000-750,000. It depends on whether a big snow storm hits.
“A factor I just don’t control is the weather,” Andrews said.
The National Western, which organizers call the Super Bowl of livestock shows, draws business people and participants from across the country and world. Andrews said people from all 50 states are set to take part in the rodeo and the livestock, horse and trade shows during the event, which runs through Jan. 21.
“People from more than 30 different countries will be here. We’ve already checked in people from Australia, China, Japan, Mexico and Canada,” Andrews said.
All those visitors leave a big economic footprint, says the Common Sense Institute, a research organization focused on Colorado’s economy. In 2023, the stock show contributed $171 million in direct and indirect economic benefits in Colorado, according to a report by the institute.
And the stock show association, which puts on the stock show, generates economic activity throughout the year, the report said. The association spent more than $3.6 million on education and scholarships and managed 97 other events that drew an additional 482,530 in attendees and produced an estimated $26.4 million in spending.
“The broader efforts to redevelop the National Western Complex, home to the National Western Stock Show, is injecting more than $1 billion in new construction that will expand impact and operations in the future,” according to the report.
With construction underway, Andrews said visitors can get a good sense of what the new livestock center will look like when it’s completed, which is expected in late 2025.
“There’s a lot of steel hanging in the air right now,” Andrews said.
The $239 million Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center will feature a 5,000-seat arena, a 200,000-square-foot livestock hall, a 75,000-square-foot junior market barn and enough room for more than 1,400 head of cattle.
Andrews anticipates breaking ground Feb. 1 for construction of the National Western Stock Show Association Legacy Building. The 100,000-square-foot structure, which will cost about $100 million, will be the stock show’s headquarters and will include an art gallery where the National Western’s art collection will be on display year-round.
Still in the works is a new equestrian center, hotel and parking garage planned on 17 acres. The equestrian center was part of a 2015 master plan to redevelop the National Western complex. But rising costs and the challenges created by the pandemic meant the city, which owns the site, couldn’t afford to build both the livestock and equestrian center.
City officials have looked at a public-private partnership that includes building a hotel.
The city has issued a request for proposals soliciting a development team to build the equestrian center, hotel and parking garage, Mike Bouchard, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center, said in an email.
The second stage of the procurement is underway and is expected to close early in the second quarter of this year, Bouchard said. The contract and other specifics will be determined then.
The city anticipates completing the design of a pedestrian bridge to the site this year with construction expected in 2025, Bouchard said. The bridge would go over railroad lines, making it easier for people in neighboring Globeville and Elyria-Swansea to reach the area.
For those venturing out to the stock show this year, there are new attractions, Andrews said. Some of those are:
Live music in a “cowboy courtyard” between the Exposition Hall and the Denver Coliseum. The performances are scheduled 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and on Martin Luther King Day.
An expanded wine bar stocked with Colorado wines in the Exposition Hall.
New menu items planned by more than 30 different chefs from across the country. Naturally, Andrews said, “great steak” will still be available.
Updated at 12:11 p.m. Jan. 8, 2024, to correct that construction is continuing on the new livestock during the stock show center and correct Mike Bouchard’s title.
Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.
