The old cowboy saying that when you get bucked off the bronco, you’ve got to get back on and try again applies to Denver and the National Western Center Authority when it comes to getting a shiny new arena.

In November, voters rejected a $190 million bond measure that would have helped pay for a 10,000-seat arena and revamped a stock show building into a community market.

“It certainly didn’t help that folks had not been on the campus for almost two years,” said Brad Buchanan, CEO of the authority, noting that last year’s stock show was canceled due to the pandemic and constant construction made it difficult to visit the stock show grounds.

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The authority oversees the land that makes up the National Western Complex and Denver Coliseum off I-70 and Brighton Boulevard.

The authority was created in 2015 when the Colorado State University system, Denver officials and the Western Stock Show Association, which puts on the stock show, signed an agreement to develop the campus and reinvigorate the city land.

Voters passed a measure that November allowing bonds to be issued through a 1.75% tourism tax on hotel rooms and rental cars. The measure was not to exceed $778 million.

Phases 1 and 2 of that bond-fueled construction resulted in the Cille and Ron Williams Stockyards, the 46,000-square-foot HW Hutchison Family Stockyards Event Center, an equestrian center and trade show area. All of the facilities were unveiled during this year’s stock show, which runs through Jan. 23, along with the first of three buildings on the CSU Spur campus there.

“We were very supportive when the mayor asked us what we thought of the idea,” Paul Andrews, president and CEO of the National Western Stock Show, said of the failed bond measure. “We raised money to support the idea … but it appears that was not the vehicle voters would like to see used.”

Voters probably got confused and thought the measure would include a tax increase, city officials said.

“The broader Denver community didn’t know the progress we had made,” said Jenna Espinoza-Garcia, a Denver spokeswoman. “We hope many got to see the progress at the stock show this year.

“We’re sure people were feeling like, ‘We already approved funding for this, and haven’t seen any return on investment yet.'”

Now the Western Stock Show Association, Denver and authority officials are regrouping, talking to community members and trying to formulate a new plan.

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“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board with the community,” Espinoza-Garcia said. “We’re starting discussions again and keeping them in the loop. It’s clear they want to be more involved partners.”

In the meantime, construction starts this summer on the 3,500-seat Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center.

CoBank recently donated $5 million to the National Western Center through the Honoring the Legacy Campaign, earning naming rights for the CoBank Livestock Arena and the CoBank Livestock Auction Arena.

The 146,000-square-foot, 5,000-seat CoBank Livestock Arena “will be one of the most vital and heavily trafficked locations on the National Western Center campus during the National Western Stock Show and throughout the year,” according to a news release.

On Friday, the CoBank Livestock Auction Arena hosts the popular Junior Livestock Auction. The 10,000-square-foot facility seats 700.

Andrews said the National Western Stock Show owes $125 million to Denver to pay for phases 1 and 2 of the measure that passed in 2015. It transferred 90 acres of land, valued at $75 million.

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“The other $50 million had to be a cash infusion, and the CoBank donation is part of that $50 million,” Andrews said. “The new, multi-purpose building all the partners are trying to have built will be in a different business model, that is yet to be determined.”

A new events center would help the stock show’s rodeo stay competitive, Andrews said. The aging Denver Coliseum is competing against venues like the 14,000-seat Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, which opened in late 2019.

“State-of-the-art facilities cities are building keeps them staying competitive. They can draw higher talent pools and pay out more,” Andrews said. “Fort Worth pays out $1 million. We’re in the $600,000 range. … No one is really suggesting the Denver Coliseum, built in 1952, is a competitive venue across America.”