Pueblo City Council approves $14.4 million for regional tourism project afterall

For more than a year there have been talks over whether RTA will get a loan from the city to fund the first phase.

A mockup drawing of the envisioned, complete RTA project on the Riverwalk. Image via PURA

With finance deadlines looming, a $14.4 million loan has been permitted by Pueblo City Council to help fund the first phase of the Regional Tourism Act project.

The money is coming from the city’s half-cent sales tax fund, normally reserved for job recruiting, to the Regional Tourism Act project.

City council voted unanimously in favor of the resolution Monday night at its regularly scheduled meeting.

The Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority, which is taking the lead on facilitating the project, has most recently looked to the bond market to finance the first phase of the project. RTA projects are state-approved tourism projects that are meant to be ‘unique and extraordinary’ and draw out-of-state visitors. RTA project zones receive a slice of the state sales tax as an incentive.

PURA estimates that the first phase, which will include construction of the Professional Bull Rider University and expansion of the Pueblo Convention Center, will cost between $20 million and $24 million.

The deadline for financing the first phase is May 18.

Previously, the city’s demands were that if PURA took the loan, it’d have to be repaid first, according to PURA Executive Director Jerry Pacheco. As $14.4 million was not deemed enough to support the first phase, Pacheco and his board decided to see what kind of bond they could get. Potentially, bonding the whole first phase.

So far, it’s unclear where the funding for phase one will come from and whether the same payback demand will be enforced by council.

Funding is not contingent on the city loan, Pacheco said prior to the vote. However, how much PURA seeks from a bond may be based on what council decides regarding a loan.