The 250-acre National Western Center sits on the historic grounds of the National Western Stock Show. This $104-million project upgraded horizontal infrastructure, preserved historical structures and prepared the campus for construction of new indoor and outdoor spaces.

Scope of work at the 598,000-sq-ft Stockyards Events Center included salvaging existing stock show cattle pens and 35,000 sq ft of pavers, installing 940 linear ft of 78-in. reinforced concrete pipe and preparing the building pad site for vertical construction. Ames also realigned 14,000 linear ft of Denver Rock Island Railroad track that bisects the campus to a new alignment outside of the campus footprint, improved Bettie Cram Drive and built two pad-ready sites for Colorado State University’s new facilities.

Additional work included the new three-span, 257-ft 51st Avenue Bridge—constructed with 84-ft precast/prestressed concrete box girders—along with new drainage and utilities, final pad-ready sites and the relocation of 4,500 linear ft of National Western Drive. Work finished within budget and on time in September 2022.

The open-air exhibition area, used for livestock exhibition pens during the annual stock show, will be used year-round for a variety of educational and entertainment purposes. Recognizing the unique sanitary challenges of surface water runoff during animal events, crews built a custom drainage collection system for the exhibition area to protect the South Platte River from potentially contaminated stormwater runoff.

Photo courtesy Ames Construction

Approximately one mile of fused high-density polyethylene supply and return lines will support the Delgany Interceptor, a major wastewater transmission line, from which the campus will source nearly 90% of its heating and cooling. Ames and Garney Construction teamed up to relocate the interceptor, which could only be performed during the low-flow period between November and May. The original schedule planned on using low-flow periods over two work seasons to complete the work, but the contractors were able to resequence, accelerate and complete the relocation in one season. A future central utility plant will handle the heat transfer system and help reduce emissions on campus by nearly 2,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.