The A-word.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: RUNDLES wrap up

THE NEWS THAT GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT IS planning to build an $800 million-plus hotel, entertainment and meeting facility in Colorado in Aurora near Denver International Airport is a welcome economic development coup.

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I have stayed in several Gaylord properties over the years, including Opryland, and I can attest to the company's quality and value.

I don't buy the argument, put forward by some downtown Denver interests, that the addition of such a large complex and its corporate business-meeting model will hurt the downtown convention business.

True, the Gaylord model is to capture guests and keep them pretty much within the properly, so it is possible the direct economic benefit will be narrow. However, when the visitors see the Rocky Mountains and the downtown Denver skyline they will be helpless in succumbing to the lure, either on that visit or the inevitable next one.

The whole Gaylord deal is wrapped up in a proposal in move the National Western Stoke Show from its historic location in Denver near downtown off I-70 to a larger tract of land, also in Aurora. While the two moves aren't dependent upon each other Gaylord has said it will build regardless of what the stock show docs, depending upon some subsidy financing and options coming through both projects are almost always discussed in the same context.

Originally the stock show was considering a site within the city and county of Denver adjacent lo the Gay lord property, but there appear to be some issues with the FAA and airport operations that squelched that proposal. So Aurora conies up roses.

However, moving the stock show to any location (it says it needs a bigger site for expansion and modernization; would require some fancy financing techniques to accomplish, including the passage of a lax hike for Denver citizens lo float $150 million worth of development bonds. A tax hike being passed now, or for that matter for the foreseeable future, is a highly unlikely event under the best of circumstances, but already the stars are in a weird and highly negative alignment.

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I couldn't care less whether the stock show suns in Denver proper or moves to Aurora, or for that matter moves to Highlands Ranch, because the economic impact from its main two-week event in January will always be an enormous benefit to the entire region. And Denver, through an agreement with...