Hospitality & Tourism  February 17, 2015

Go NoCO submits tourism funding application for 5 projects

LOVELAND — Go NoCO, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of the city of Loveland, town of Windsor and Larimer County to promote tourism, has submitted an application to Colorado’s Regional Tourism Authority in hopes of receiving funding to help develop projects that can attract tourists and sales-tax revenue.

The RTA, passed in 2009, is intended to help fund high-profile tourism projects by rebating the state sales-tax revenues that new, out-of-state visitors would generate.

The funding would be used to help off-set cost of developing new or expanding existing attractions.  Go NoCO submitted five projects: The PeliGrande Resort and Windsor Conference Center in Windsor, The Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies, The U.S. Whitewater Adventure Park, The National Sports & Tournament Center and the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch.

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Go NoCO said if its application is selected, its combined attractions in Larimer County, Loveland and Windsor would draw more than 306,000 out-of-state visitors and more than $232.9 million in new state tax revenue from all sources.

The RTA program is designed to assist with the development of destination tourism attractions to bring new out-of-state visitors to Colorado. The program offers the use of net new state sales tax generated in a regional tourism zone to the development of the projects included in the RTA application. The State Economic Development Commission, which oversees the process, can only award two more RTA grants; however, it is not obligated to award any. The commission is expected to make a final decision Nov. 12.

Go NoCO is backed by the city of Loveland, the town of Windsor, Larimer County and several private partners including Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, McWhinney and Water Valley Land Co.

Here are shortened versions of Go NoCO’s descriptions of the five projects it submitted.

The PeliGrande Resort and Windsor Conference Center: A four-star golf resort and conference center. The 300-room resort hotel also features two full-service restaurants, an upscale lounge, a luxury spa with massage, yoga, stress management and other healing/energizing services, a fitness center, 58,500 square feet of ballroom, meeting and prefunction space and retail services. The PeliGrande Resort has secured a promise from the PGA to bring a Champions Tour event to the yet-to be built Raindance National Golf Course expected to be ready by 2018.

Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies: From the creators of the Great Wolf Lodge brand comes the first next-generation family-friendly indoor waterpark entertainment experience. The Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies is easily accessible and visible from I-25. This extraordinary, one-of-a-kind attraction features a 75,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, 330 hotel room and suites, a 55,000-square-foot outdoor waterpark and more than 20,000 square feet of other indoor attractions in its Family Entertainment Center.

U.S. Whitewater Adventure Park: As one of four whitewater parks in the U.S. and designed to Olympic standards, the U.S Whitewater Adventure Park will bring the complete Rocky Mountain whitewater experience to Loveland and the Front Range with numerous outdoor challenges, world-class whitewater, climbing and other adventure experiences that promote healthy, active, outdoor lifestyles. Located – and highly visible – along Interstate 25 and north of the Budweiser Event Center, the Whitewater Park will center around a 20-acre artificial whitewater river system that offers varying levels of difficulty, and other wet and dry recreational attractions including zip lines, high ropes course, obstacle courses, a canopy tour, climbing wall, canyoneering, children’s play area and team building area. The Whitewater Adventure Park will also contain a restaurant, retail shops, an amphitheater, multi-purpose event space, and a variety of outdoor structures, including bungalows and outdoor patios.

National Sports & Tournament Center: A destination sports and wellness campus, housing three independently operated elements for athletes including a Bo Jackson Elite Sports Training Facility, with a 105,800-square-foot multipurpose sports dome containing multi-purpose turf fields, baseball and softball diamonds, batting cages, strength and agility training areas; an Outdoor Sports Complex, a super-regional tournament venue hosting baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse tournaments.

Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch: Since the 1920s, Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch has been a destination guest ranch along the Big Thompson River. Two floods – one in 1976 and one in 2013 – devastated the ranch. Reconstruction and expansion followed the 1976 flood and allowed Sylvan Dale to add lodging and other amenities, transforming Sylvan Dale from a summer-only guest ranch to a year-round facility. However, the 2013 flood left Sylvan Dale with only half its lodging capacity and its kitchen, dining room, and several outdoor event sites destroyed. Sylvan Dale’s reconstruction plan focuses on its immediate need of restoring key components of the operation, replacing lost lodging and bringing ranch capacity back to its pre-flood level. Specifically, Sylvan Dale looks to restore the existing Homestead and J-House and expand the dining room.

LOVELAND — Go NoCO, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of the city of Loveland, town of Windsor and Larimer County to promote tourism, has submitted an application to Colorado’s Regional Tourism Authority in hopes of receiving funding to help develop projects that can attract tourists and sales-tax revenue.

The RTA, passed in 2009, is intended to help fund high-profile tourism projects by rebating the state sales-tax revenues that new, out-of-state visitors would generate.

The funding would be used to help off-set cost of developing new or expanding existing attractions.  Go NoCO submitted five projects: The PeliGrande Resort and Windsor Conference…

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