One of northern Colorado’s largest event centers is gearing up for a big expansion. Plans for The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland, home to the Budweiser Events Center and Colorado Eagles hockey team, include a new 8,000 seat arena, youth sports complex and an expo center.
This is also your chance to chime in and comment on the proposed changes.
The Ranch was built more than a decade ago and hosts hundreds of events each year. But the county-owned facility still isn’t profitable, said Larimer County officials at a Dec. 12 meeting. Ranch director Chris Ashby said he hopes the new additions can change that.
“Operationally at the end of the day we'd like to be self-sustaining or perhaps maybe even make a bit of a positive revenue stream for the facility,” he said.
Ashby said the additions should attract higher-revenue entertainment and trade shows to the region.
As a county-owned property, the voice of Larimer County is as important to the process as the plans themselves, according to Ashby.
In addition to the new 8,000 seat arena, the team also proposed repurposing the Budweiser Events Center into a new equestrian facility. The center would have expanded barns, a new ring, warm up areas and a small veterinary clinic staffed by Colorado State University veterinarians.
A 20-year sales tax extension passed by Larimer County voters last year will fund the facility’s continued growth.
The expansion team plans to finish the research and design process should early next year. Public comment on the proposed designs is open until early 2019.
