The billion-dollar price tag to redevelop Denver’s National Western Center Campus is anticipated to return 10 times its cost to the local economy. Infrastructure work at the site is well underway, with plans for additional construction boosted by an upcoming release of $175.8 million in city bonds.
The NWC project is an ambitious effort to convert the 94 acres in north Denver that host the annual National Western Stock Show into a 250-acre development to be used throughout the year. The campus will become a “year-round destination, strategically aligning education, economic development and tourism and entertainment,” according to the 2012 agreement signed between the major partners. Those include the city and county of Denver, Colorado State University, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, History Colorado and the National Western Stock Show Association.