Go NoCO asks state to fill $80.7M funding gap for tourism projects

DENVER — A coalition of more than 20 representatives from local governments and private businesses in Northern Colorado took their three-minute turns Monday morning in Denver hoping to convince the state’s Economic Development Commission to grant $80.7 million in funding to offset the cost of building four proposed tourism projects in Northern Colorado.

Prior to those pitches, the commission watched a video about the $334 million worth of proposed projects: The PeliGrande Resort and Conference Center in Windsor, The Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies and the U.S. Whitewater Adventure Park in Loveland, and the Stanley Hotel Auditorium and Film Center in Estes Park, which will expand the hotel’s annual film festival that has been holding for the past three years.

If selected, state funding to offset the costs of the projects will come available through the Office of Economic Development and International Trade by the Regional Tourism Act passed in 2009, which allows the rebating of state sales-tax revenue that new, out-of-state visitors would generate in a predetermined tourism zone.

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Go NoCO, a nonprofit created by government entities and private businesses in Northern Colorado to apply for the grant, pitched the projects that would be paid for by developers, local government incentive packages and the state funding.

Go NoCO is asking the state for approximately $80.7 million to fill what it calls “funding gaps” for all four projects. The gaps were calculated by projecting sales-tax revenue, market risk and anticipated rate of return on private investment.

The Indoor Waterpark Resort will cost $138.3 million to build with a funding gap of about $30.4 million; Peligrande Resort and Conference Center will cost $110 million with a funding gap of $26.9 million; U.S. Whitewater Adventure Park, $61 million with a $11.9 million gap; and the horror-film center will cost $22.5 million with a gap of $11.3 million. Go NoCO told the commission that none of the projects would move forward without the added funding from the state.

Go NoCO’s officials said the combined attractions will bring 423,000 new out-of-state visitors to Colorado annually. Visitor projections for the horror film center were not considered by the state’s analyst, Economic Planning Systems, because the project was submitted later than the first three projects.

The commission, which is expected to make a final decision Nov. 12 following several more meetings with analysts, want a clearer estimate and understanding about where visitors to the attractions will come from, fearing cannibalism of other tourist attractions in the state, and whether the PeliGrande Resort reached the “unique” requirement set forth in the RTA, meaning it’s unlike other attractions in the state.

About the projects

The PeliGrande Resort and Conference Center: A four-star golf resort and conference center to be built along the shore of Lake Water Valley in Windsor. The 300-room hotel features two full-service restaurants, upscale lounge, a luxury spa, a fitness center, 58,500 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, and retail services. The yet-to-be built Raindance Golf Course has received a promise from the PGA to hold a Champions Tour event there in 2018. Martin Lind, president of the Water Valley Land Co. that is behind the resort project, said Monday that the Raindance, being designed by PGA golfer Fred Funk, is not part of the application, but it too would draw visitors to the PeliGrande. Lind also received a promise from the PGA last week that if the Raindance was not completed in time, the event could be played at his Pelican Lakes Golf Course, also in Windsor.

Stanley Hotel Auditorium and Film Center: A permanent home of the horror-film genre, building off the hotel’s storied history of inspiring Stephen King to write “The Shining,” which later was made into a movie that is a classic scary movie.

The Stanley Film Center will include a 500-seat auditorium, creative classrooms, digital audio- and film-mixing studios, a sound stage, film discovery center and archive that will exhibit many of the crown-jewel artifacts of the film industry, outdoor theater for films under the stars and more. It would be built and operated in partnership with an advisory board of filmmakers and is expected to draw visitors from around the globe.

Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies: The Indoor Waterpark Resort in Loveland would be accessible and visible from Interstate 25. It would feature a 75,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, 330-room hotel, 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: The park, north of the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland, would be built around a 20-acre artificial whitewater river system using recycled water that offers varying levels of difficulty designed to Olympic standards. It also would have 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 park would also contain a restaurant, retail shops, an amphitheater, multipurpose event space, and a variety of outdoor structures, including bungalows and outdoor patios.

Betsey Hale, business development manager for the city of Loveland, said backers and developers have invested $1 million on preparing the grant application.

Go NoCO is financially backed by the city of Loveland, the town of Windsor, Larimer County and about 20 private partners led by Water Valley Land Co. in Windsor, Loveland-based McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc., the Grand Heritage Hotel Group based in Maryland, Fort Collins-based Spirit Hospitality LLC and FirstBank.