Patrick Malone
DENVER — A bill being considered in the General Assembly would strengthen Pueblo’s bid to land up to $20 million for a wide-ranging expansion of the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo, say its sponsor and local business leaders.
Pueblo submitted an application under the Regional Tourism Act last year. It proposes a multisport arena for international bull-riding training and amateur sporting events, an exhibition hall for large consumer and trade shows, an aquatic center with a 50-meter pool and a “Walk of Valor” tied in with the Home of Heroes memorial. A private developer also is eyeing construction of a hotel associated with the exhibition hall if it is built.
Under HB1056, preference would be given to applications that focus on luring out-of-state tourists to Colorado. Pueblo’s application is particularly strong in that area, said Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Denver, who sponsored the bill.
“My reading of the feedback that all of the proposed projects have gotten suggests that the Pueblo proposal is one of the strongest for bringing in out-of-state tourists,” Kerr said. “I think that this bill will only help strengthen Pueblo’s standing.”
“Pueblo all along, from when we started our application, we were clearly informed that the objective was to bring out-of-state visitors for tourism, and we built our application on that,” said Rod Slyhoff, president and CEO of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, which supports HB1056.
Pueblo’s application is one of six competing for money. Two are expected to be chosen this year, and could be announced as soon as April.
Legislation carried last year by Kerr and Rep. Keith Swerdfeger, R-Pueblo West, expanded the number of projects the state can authorize to six over a three-year span from two in a single year.
The tourism act allows local governments to apply to the Colorado Economic Development Commission to create special districts. Within those zones, excess sales tax revenue can be retained and spent on tourism projects.
“The intent of the original Regional Tourism Act wasn’t for Colorado communities to cannibalize each other for tourism dollars,” Kerr said. “If we’re just stealing tourists from one zone of the state and drawing them to another, why give a sales-tax break?”
Kerr said the governor’s office brought the concept of HB1056 to him. Gov. John Hickenlooper’s spokesman, Eric Brown, confirmed the governor supports the bill.
However, others do not. Kerr, a candidate for a state Senate seat, said some Republicans have expressed opposition to it.
“Part of it is a political worry that a Democrat who is running for a Senate seat might actually pass a bill that helps create jobs and increase tourism in Colorado,” he said. Representatives of districts in the running for regional tourism funds whose communities’ applications are less focused on drawing out-of-state tourists also have had objections.
“They think it weakens their proposals,” Kerr said. “My thought there is, put forward a proposal that increases out-of-state tourism, and then you won’t have to worry. It’s meant to be a competitive process.”
The bill is set for a hearing Wednesday in the House Local Affairs Committee, which includes two lawmakers from the Pueblo area: Swerdfeger and Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo. Kerr was puzzled that the committee postponed hearing the bill last week when it was scheduled, and frustrated by what he heard from witnesses who were prepared to testify in support of it.
“The witnesses who are testifying in favor of this bill have been pressured not to” by Republicans and representatives of areas concerned that their tourism applications will be hurt by the bill.
“We were made aware of that,” Slyhoff acknowledged. “That’s unfortunate. It’s a shame that sometimes the party caucuses get in the way of good legislation. The ones that really don’t benefit from that type of behavior are the citizens of Colorado who would benefit from more tourists coming here from out of state and spending money.”
Slyhoff said applicants will be afforded 30 minutes each on March 8 for presentations about their projects to the Colorado Economic Development Commission, which is expected to authorize two applicants’ projects this spring.
Slyhoff said he is confident in Pueblo’s application and believes it stands a good chance of being selected regardless of the success of HB1056. Kerr is less assured that the right projects will be chosen if the bill fails.
“If this bill doesn’t pass, it puts into jeopardy the appropriate projects actually being approved and would give weight to projects that don’t actually bring in out-of-state tourists,” he said. “I think Pueblo has an excellent application. My guess would be that they’re pretty highly ranked right now, but if we don’t pass this bill, I think that puts all of the projects in jeopardy, especially the best ones.”
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