Pueblo Convention Center upgrades expected to bring business, athletes
After years of planning and building, the city of Pueblo will unveil new additions to the convention center next week.
This includes 18,500 square-feet of convention center space and a brand new athletics facility. These additions are phase one of the city’s plan to upgrade the Riverwalk area in Pueblo.
“We want to bring outside business to the Pueblo,” said Pueblo Convention Center General Manager Kevin Ortiz.
Attract more business, conventions, and trade shows: that’s the name of the game. Ortiz is confident Pueblo can do just that.
“Prior to us having this space, we didn’t have the capability to bring in big players that have conventions or trade shows throughout the year,” said Ortiz when asked if Pueblo can realistically attract bigger business to Pueblo with this upgrade.
“[This] gives us the opportunity to bring those individuals in, that might have had to take their events elsewhere. Plus this gives them the opportunity to visit Pueblo for the first time.”
That means a larger economic impact on Pueblo’s restaurants, hotels, etc.
Planning for the additions began as far back as 2011, while construction began just last year. The additions to the convention center cost more than $20 million.
The convention center floor was ready for use in March, and it has already hosted a circus and outdoor expo show. However, the athletic facility is just now nearing completion.
Melissa Henricks with Professional Bull Riders has overseen the construction of the Sports Performance Center. It’s a facility geared to training western sports athletes, especially bull riders.
“I don’t know that there is anything that has all these components together in one building in the United States,” said Henricks. “We know there are currently some very high-level athletes from Pueblo that have left to go train somewhere else. And we want it to be the opposite where people are leaving where they are to come to Pueblo.”
PBR hopes to bring top-level athletes to Pueblo to ride and teach at camps as well. The hope is to bring in legendary riders as well, such as Cody Lambert and Justin McBride
However, the training facility isn’t only geared towards bull riders. Henricks says they hope to attract a number of professional athletes to train in the facility. Whether or not it will be open to the public remains to be seen.
The first phase of the Riverwalk improvements also includes a welcome center for the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce and an $8.5 million parking garage right across the street from the convention center.
Next, city officials hope to build a boathouse on the Riverwalk channel and maybe even extend the channel to Santa Fe Avenue.
