Lind lays out latest plans for Brands at the Ranch

LOVELAND — Martin Lind, developer of the Brands at the Ranch in northeast Loveland and west Windsor, will soon know how much private sector interest exists in partnering with Larimer County to expand the facilities at The Ranch, the county’s fairgrounds and events/entertainment venue north of Crossroads Boulevard.

That interest will be key, because the Brands, which recently pivoted from a retail-centered development to an entertainment/events venue, is planned to complement and extend the reach of the 220-acre Ranch, where the Colorado Eagles hockey team plays and where concerts, horse shows, and fair events take place. Larimer County is expected to post a request for interest on its website this week with private sector developers having a period of weeks to respond whether they want to participate in new features at the Ranch.

Among the proposed expansions for the Ranch is a new, larger hockey and concert venue that will seat 10,000 people for hockey and 12,000 for concerts. The existing Budweiser Events Center, with about 7,200 seats, will continue to be used but will more often be used for “dirt events” such as horse shows and motocross, Lind said.

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Lind spoke to a group of real estate agents, bankers and others at a gathering at Re/Max Eagle Rock Tuesday night to share latest developments on his project, which includes more than 200 acres that Lind owns plus a long-term lease of 16 acres at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport.

The Brands at the Ranch has drawn intense public interest because of a centerpiece feature: a gondola that will start near the airport, extend 45 feet over Interstate 25, and make stops at locations within the Brands and the Ranch.

Lind said his company looked at the bridge that crosses Interstate 80 at Kearney, Nebraska, as a potential alternative to the gondola to connect the pieces of the Brands that will be on west and east sides of the interstate. “That [the Archway] cost $65 million. For $20 million, I can have a gondola that extends two miles,” Lind said.

The gondola also makes sense because it would permit people to surface park on the west side of the interstate to avoid having a parking garage on the east side. “The savings on the garage pays for the gondola,” he said.

In the Brands development, Lind is proposing The Great Colorado Experience, which would be a 120-foot tall tent structure similar in appearance to the main terminal at Denver International Airport. The centerpiece of this development will be 5D projections. [3D or three dimensional movies provide depth to images, 4D adds motion, and 5D adds additional elements such as sensory experiences.] It might include rope courses and a virtual gondola ride that would take people on a visual/sensory/interactive “trip” to iconic places like Vail or the Royal Gorge.

Lind said one proposed development for the Brands may be a golf venue similar to Topgolf. He said the Brands is among the sites being considered for an $85 million Veterans Administration clinic.

There will be apartment complexes, food venues, a hotel and some retail in a marketplace center. Sports activities would be included, too.

Lind said the location for the Brands is perfect because of its geography. “It’s halfway between Mexico and Canada and 50 miles south of I-80 and 50 miles north of I-70,” he said. “It’s the center of the center. We expect this to be the LoDo of NoCo,” he said, referring to the lower downtown area of Denver.

“We don’t have to add one tourist to make this work,” he said. “The tourists are already here. We just have to make them spend one more day.” He said people who come to the Ranch for horse shows and other events are often looking for other things to do.

When development will occur remains to be determined, but once started it will take multiple years for everything to take shape, he said.