With a yee-haw and a giddy-up, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Wednesday kicked off a campaign to persuade Denver voters to approve extending a tourism tax to fund part of a $865 million renovation and expansion of the decrepit National Western Center, home for more than a century to the National Western Stock Show.

“This is truly a smart deal for Denver,” Hancock told about 150 lawmakers, business and community leaders gathered in the Stadium Arena at the complex. “The National Western Center plan is our opportunity to keep the stock show in Denver and make it thrive for another century. With the voters’ support, we’ll reinvent the National Western as a year-round destination for entertainment and tourism.”

Just four years after nearly losing the stock show to neighboring Aurora, Denver is forging ahead with an ambitious plan to redevelop the site east of the Interstate 70 and Interstate 25 interchange into a year-round event center and agricultural research hub.

“We’ll partner with Colorado State University to establish Denver as a global center for agricultural research and agribusiness development,” Hancock said. “And we’ll restore the historic neighborhoods that built the city we are all proud to call home.”

The proposal aims to extend a pair of 1.75-percent taxes on hotel rooms and rental cars, approved by Denver voters in 1999 to fund an expansion of the Colorado Convention Center and set to expire in 2023. In addition to paying for a portion of the National Western project, the November ballot measure is also set to pay for parks, restoration of the South Platte Riverfront in the bustling River North neighborhood, and add additional capacity to the convention center.

With voter approval, Denver would be able to keep the existing tourism taxes in place, directing $476 million from excise-tax revenue bonds to pay for the project.

It’s one of three tax-related measures likely headed to the Denver ballot. The other three include a sales tax to fund scholarships and loan repayment help for Denver college students and one to approve an agreement with Adams County to share tax revenue around Denver International Airport.

Hancock was joined by House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran, D-Denver – her district includes the National Western Complex and surrounding neighborhoods – and Colorado State University President Tony Frank, who touted a state-of-the-art agricultural research and equine center slated to be part of the complex expansion.

“It is a symbol of our history but will also be a symbol for our future,” said Duran, who noted that when she first campaigned for the seat she heard plenty from nearby residents who were begging for opportunities in their neighborhoods.

The Legislature earlier this year passed $250 million in funding for CSU’s part of the project.

“We’re here for a smart deal for Denver,” said Globeville activist John Zapien, who noted he lives between I-70 and I-25 – the largest intersection between Kansas City and California, he noted wryly – and that the neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea had been “overlooked, neglected and isolated” by highways, rivers and railroad tracks for decades.

The National Western expansion and associated improvements, he said, promise to provide opportunity and breathe new life into the neighborhoods.

“This is not just another rodeo,” Zapien said.

Cindy Parsons, who chairs VISIT Denver, the city’s convention and tourism bureau, pointed out that the ballot measure will also mean the city can attract more convention business.

“In 2014, the Colorado Convention Center lost 236 major events because we did not have adequate or available space,” Parsons said. “Without raising taxes, this ballot measure will allow us to say yes to more convention organizers and meeting planners who want to host events in Denver. And by capturing greater market share, we’ll generate more tourism revenue to support local businesses and invest in our city.”

The convention center upgrades are estimated to cost $105 million.

“Are we ready to celebrate the great heritage that’s helped this great city to stand for 157 years – the western heritage that says, we don’t get bypassed by the continental railroad, no, we dig in?” Hancock said.

Then, quoting John Wayne, Hancock concluded: “Courage is being scared as hell, but pony-up anyway, and ride forth. Let’s go win in November!”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com