Gaylord gets the state cash, but only about half

DENVER | Colorado Economic Development commissioners awarded tens of millions of state tax dollars to help build the Gaylord hotel and conference center project in Aurora on May 18 by a 7-to-2 vote.

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Map shows proposed layout of the Gaylord hotel and conference center complex

The incentives were significantly less than the city had initially wanted, but Aurora officials said they will work with Nashville, Tenn.-based Gaylord Entertainment to move the project forward, despite Gaylord’s original claims that the project would be impossible without the full funding request.

During the next 120 days, commissioners will work on the details of the agreement with Gaylord officials and the city.

Under the preliminary incentive agreement, the company would be able to keep about 66 percent of the sales taxes generated by the project. That money would be reinvested back into the development of the 1,500-room, Western-themed hotel.

That means they’d be able to keep about $81.4 million over 30 years, or $2.7 million annually, according to the state’s third-party analyst.

That’s less than the original request for funding that would have allowed the company to keep 95 percent of sales tax revenues, or about $153 million, over 30 years.

“I think what we have to do now is we have to figure out how to make it work,” said Wendy Mitchell, executive director of the Aurora Economic Development Council.

That means possibly working with architects to see how money could be saved, she said.

“They’re not going to downsize the project in any way,” Mitchell said. “In their mind, this project is clearly one of their flagship projects and this is going to be something that takes them into the future.”

Gaylord likely won’t be receiving as much money as it wanted from the state, but it definitely won’t be scoring any more money from the city of Aurora either, Mitchell said.

City officials agreed last year to give up to $300 million worth of tax rebates to help fund the project.

Kevin Lund, the head of the Colorado Economic Development Commission, acknowledged at the meeting that opponents of the project have said the hotel could potentially “cannibalize” the existing hotel market in the Denver metro area.

Lund said the project falls in line with the intention and mission of the Regional Tourism Act, which is to award incentives to a project that is “extraordinary and unique” and will result in substantial out-of-state tourism.

Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said he was grateful for the commission’s decision.

“These funds will change not only the landscape of our state,” said he said in a statement. “They will change the lives of the people who will be put to work as this project moves forward.”

Gaylord officials did not attend the meeting.

Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and Grand Junction banker Bill Sisson, members of the state’s Economic Development Commission opposed the Gaylord incentive deal. A majority of the commissioners also voted to give incentives to Pueblo to build a convention center and exhibit hall, and extend the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk channel.

Pueblo is expected to keep about $14.8 million worth of sales tax revenue generated over 30 years for their project, or $493,000 annually.

The 1,500 Western-themed hotel will be located on about 85 acres of land in Aurora territory near the Denver International Airport. It is expected to have more than 406,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space including two ballrooms. The total cost of the project is more than $800 million, and is scheduled to open in 2016.

The report says the project is estimated to create about 2,500 jobs, most of which will likely be filled by workers in the Denver metro area, according to the state’s third-party analyst.