Projects at The Ranch moving forward
Larimer County hopes to open the bidding process by the end of the year for improvements at The Ranch.
The first two phases of the project include moving Arena Circle to the outside of the property, as well as other pavement work, and the expansion of livestock and equine facilities. This includes additional indoor practice and show space as well as outdoor show rings that can be used separately for small spaces or combined for one larger space.
“Ever ything we’re projecting is based upon flexibility,” said Chris Ashby, director of The Ranch, the county’s fairgrounds complex located in east Loveland.
Larimer County voters in 2017 agreed to extend a sales tax to suppor t The Ranch for another 20 years, which Ashby said is expected to bring in $264 million over its life. The county is looking at spending the bulk of that, $250 million, on several phases of expanding the facilities.
The first two phases should go out to bid this year, while the third phase, which includes privatepublic par tnerships to build a rec
reational sports complex, a new larger arena and a hotel and trade center, will be put out for “requests for proposals” within the first three months of 2021.
This process is to gauge whether private partners will come to the table for those pieces of the project and see what they are interested in building and how they want to work with the county.
“We have the concepts of what we think it should be, but the details, the fine details, still need to be worked out,” Ashby said.
Those partnerships are vital for the phase three expansions because the county cannot afford them without private par tners, he confirmed.
Until then, he can’t say what exactly is planned or how much the county will pay.
“That’s one of the great unknowns,” he said. “Until we know what they’re going to come to the table with, we really can’t know … How it shapes out will depend on the RFP (request for proposals) process.”
But the initial two phases will be paid for with the county sales tax, so Ashby said they are going to begin the process this year of getting bids for the work on pavement and roads as well as expansion of the equine facilities. The project includes a parking area with up to 100 RV spots for those attending shows.
The expanded indoor and outdoor facilities will allow the county to hold larger horse shows or more than one smaller equine or livestock show simultaneously.
“We don’t have enough warm-up space now,” Ashby said. “That’s one thing we’re working to solve.”
The first two phases of the plans will benefit the 4-H and community users of the facility, Ashby said.
And while the larger par ts of the project depend upon a financial par tner, Ashby said he believes the hotel and trade building project will move forward. This, when done, would be an integral piece in attracting more shows and activities to the Ranch, and will pump money into the local economy, he said.
Once the trade show building is complete, the FNBO Exhibition Hall will be freed up and converted for use by the 4-H and other community programs that are currently bursting at the seams in the Mckee Community Building. This would increase their space and capabilities.
And ultimately, the Larimer County Extension Office and The Ranch administrative of fices would move into the FNBO building.
While all of the pieces work together, and some depend on the private proposals, they also hinge on the amount of sales tax revenue that comes in from the 20-year tax. While $264 million is projected, the reality could be different in light of the economic times.
“You’re throwing darts at the wall with COVID,” said Ashby. “We’ll see how this shapes out and how that changes with COVID. Even this year has been hard to predict.”