INSPIRED TOWNS EMERGE AS OUTDOOR-INDUSTRY INCUBATORS.

• Author: Kailus, Julie
• Position: OUTDOOR INDUSTRIES REPORT

What does the wrap of Denver's first newly transplanted Outdoor Retailer show mean for business going forward?

More outdoor industry inspiration, innovation and incubation--in major cities and tiny towns alike, Colorado state officials and industry leaders say.

If OR's former home in Salt Lake City is any indicator, more outdoor businesses will be starting up or moving to Colorado. "People want to be close to that gravity, and with the show in Utah for 20 years, Ogden was built on the back of the momentum," says Luis Benitez, director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Office. "People wanted to be close to that three-times-a-year conversation."

As of this year, that momentum now figures to emanate from the Colorado Convention Center, site of the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, held in January; the Summer Market show slated for July; and the Winter Market show in November.

Benitez, a former adventure guide and Eagle town council member, watched his community's transformation through outdoor recreation such as mountain biking. He suggests that it's not just Denver or Colorado's resort towns that will benefit from the new spotlight that Outdoor Retailer shines on the state.

Smaller, rural and recreation-ripe communities can capitalize on the opportunity, too. The key seems to be a synergy between two important economic engines: outdoor recreation, which is already a $28 billion industry in the state, and small-business incubation.

Osprey, a specialty backpack company, with sales; marketing and customer service headquartered in remote Cortez, seems to be ahead of the curve. Despite difficulty finding talent and other challenges of running a business far from a major urban center, the organization has trusted its instincts.

"Moving down there was a giant step. Even having grown up in Denver, I had to Google Cortez," says Kami York-Feirn, a social media specialist for Osprey. "But I couldn't be happier. It just took a certain amount of courage and trusting that it would work."

She's attracted to less traffic, fewer people, stronger community, a three-bedroom house for the price of her one-bedroom in Denver and proximity to homegrown mountain biking system Phil's World, which was recently approved for expansion.

It's probably no coincidence that Cortez is increasingly recognizing the dual value of recreation tourism and a growing outdoor company anchored in downtown.

Just around the bend, Alpacka Raft, a niche packrafting maker, recently moved from...