A move of the National Western Stock Show is off the table.

Mayor Michael Hancock on Tuesday said the city is committed to keeping the iconic 106-year-old livestock show complex in the city of Denver.

Plagued by what stock show managers have said is an aging, woefully undersized complex spanning Interstate 70 in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, for more than a year the show contemplated a move to land near Denver International Airport. However, that deal — which hinged on Gaylord Entertainment building an adjacent 1,500-room hotel and convention center, in Aurora, in a complicated and heavily subsidized deal — fell apart.

The mayor's announcement comes in advance of a report compiled by the Denver

Photos: The 2012 National Western Stock Show Parade

Urban Renewal Authority about the stock show's business plan. That report is expected Wednesday.

The 100-acre north Denver complex is badly in need of repairs, and its leaders say it is too tight to be successful.

The stock show owns its own buildings and leases the land from the city. That lease still has 28 years remaining. Only critical repairs to the facilities have been made in recent years. Deferred maintenance costs in 2011 were estimated to be as much as $75 million.

Annual attendance at the January show has topped out in the 600,000 to 650,000 range due to parking and other constraints of the existing property, so the show is unable to increase revenues, city officials said last year.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.


Longhorn steers are driven down 17th Street in front of Union Station during the National Western Stock Show parade on Thursday, January 6, 2011. AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post (AAron Ontiveroz)