Jay NordhausenAssociation Perspective
National Western serves as meeting of the minds for commercial cattlemen.
Since 1906, the National Western Stock Show has served as the meeting place between commercial cattlemen and their Angus seedstock providers. For the American Angus Association, the celebrated weeklong event is filled with shows and sales. The week allows our members the opportunity to showcase their genetics to cattlemen across the country. I can’t think of any better place for cattlemen to philosophize about the cattle business other than Denver, Colo., in January.
After celebrating 110 years of western heritage, a new dawn is rising for the city of Denver and the National Western with a projected $1-billion project — the new National Western Complex. A majority of the funds for the project comes from extending the lodging and car rental taxes in the county of Denver. The project will give exhibitors, vendors and spectators a new venue to last the next 100-150 years. The construction will happen during the next several years and will be broken into three phases:
Phase 1: The historic stockyards will be completely new and will grow to 20 acres in size, which is 30% growth in that area along the South Platte River. A new Event Pavilion in the Yards will be the home for the pen and carload shows. The addition of new drives, streets and bridges will be completed during this period. The targeted completion date for the stockyards is 2020 to 2021.
Phase 2: A new 230,000-square-foot (sq. ft.) livestock center will be constructed, providing a 30% larger venue for cattle showing on what we would refer to as the Hill. Don’t worry, the history in the Stadium Arena will be kept intact and will be renovated to celebrate agricultural markets in the state of Colorado. Details are being worked on for a “parade of champions” in the Stadium Arena to keep the tradition of the countless champions selected in that historical building throughout the last century. The Livestock Center will have 2,500 seats with state-of-the-art lighting and sale facilities. Also during this time, the building of the Equine Center will take place. The completion of both centers should take one year or more.
Phase 3: This is the final phase of the project. Although the timeline for all three phases is unknown, the last phase will encompass a new Trade Show/Exhibition Hall and Rodeo Arena. The Trade Show will be 450,000 sq. ft. in size, allowing for 200 more industry, clothing and western vendors. The new rodeo arena will hold 10,000 seats with 40 high-rise box stadium suites.
The newly revamped National Western Complex will serve to increase year-round program opportunities for education of food and food production, agriculture and livestock, and water resources. There are many different master-plan ideas, partners and visions for the new Complex that I encourage everyone to take a longer look at. It’s expected that the new Complex will bring $250 billion of economic impact a year to the area.
Paul Andrews, CEO and president of NWSS, sums up the future of the new National Western Complex best, “This will be the largest celebration of agriculture in the entire world!”
The future of the National Western will only bridge the gap between our consumers and the agricultural community. For those of us in the business of feeding the world, how could we ask for anything more?
Editor’s Note: Regional Manager Jay Nordhausen covers the states of Nebraska and Colorado. Click here to find the regional manager for your state.
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