A Denver District Court judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit filed by a group of mostly Denver hotels against Aurora’s Gaylord Rockies Hotel and Conference Center, clearing the way for the 1,500-room hotel and water park near Denver International Airport.

Judge Norman Haglund ruled that none of the claims by the plaintiffs to block the project had standing. In the lawsuit, the hotel group had sought to overturn the $81.4 million award to Aurora under the Regional Tourism Act by the Colorado Economic Development Commission in 2012.

“We’re very pleased with the judge’s decision, and we obviously agree with him,” said attorney Thomas Snyder, who represented Aurora in the legal battle.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they will decide whether to appeal the ruling.

“The judge has made legal conclusions that the plaintiffs disagree with, and we’ll be reviewing our options in terms of an appeal,” said Hilary Wells, who represents the hoteliers.

Depending on the outcome of another lawsuit, construction could start on the $750 million to $850 million Gaylord project sometime next year, with an opening in 2017. It would be located on 64th Avenue between Tower Road and E-470.

Aurora Interim City Attorney Mike Hyman said the city still plans to seek damages from the hoteliers in a separate lawsuit filed against the hotel group in Arapahoe County District Court.

And another lawsuit filed by two Aurora residents still is active. The two sued on the grounds that local tax incentives awarded to the Gaylord Rockies hotel violate TABOR, the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

But Wednesday’s ruling was a key hurdle in getting the Gaylord project started, officials said.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the 11 hotel owners claimed that Aurora should have had to reapply for the tourism tax because the proposal changed developers and operators after Aurora was awarded the money.

It also claimed the “injury” a new competitor would create to the existing hotel market should not have been funded with the state subsidy because it wasn’t necessary for the project.

But Judge Haglund said the hoteliers did not have standing to make those and other claims.

The plaintiffs included the owners of the Curtis, the Broadmoor, the Brown Palace, the JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek, the Courtyard Denver Downtown, the Magnolia, the Oxford and the Westin Westminster hotels.

In a written statement, the Aurora Economic Development Council said opponents to the project were always “overreaching” in their claims.

Aside from thousands of jobs during the construction process, Gaylord Rockies is expected to have about 2,500 permanent jobs. The AEDC said more than 400,000 visitors will add an estimated $273 million to the state’s economy each year because of the project.

“We are pleased with the judge’s decision and are ready to move forward with the important business of creating jobs and economic benefit for the region,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said. “It is curious why this group of hoteliers chose to take legal action now when they could have participated in the extensive public process that took place more than two years ago.”

Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or twitter.com/cillescasdp