Not everyone's happy about funding for holiday event at Centerra

LOVELAND — An event being marketed as the only one of its kind in Northern Colorado has received approval for federal and local dollars, but not everyone supports its funding.

The Office of Economic Development and International Trade approved a federal flood recovery grant request from Visit Loveland for a new Winter Wonderlights event at the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Centerra, east of the Promenade Shops.

The $150,000 event is envisioned to be a light show choreographed to music performances from 5-9 p.m. nightly from the weekend prior to Thanksgiving through Jan. 7, 2018. The grant would cover $100,000 of costs, and the city of Loveland's lodging tax revenue would cover $50,000.

"The goal of Winter Wonderlights is to create a magical, one-of-a-kind lighting show and holiday destination event — an attraction designed to pull people off (Interstate 25) and make them think LOVELAND this holiday season," a Visit Loveland presentation stated.

According to Visitor Services Manager Cindy Mackin, staff members plan to partner with retail shopping centers and attractions to promote the event, as well as with hotels in the area to create holiday packages.

Mackin said Centerra was eligible for the recovery funding through a state tourism marketing grant program. The program assists entities in the 19 counties affected by the 2013 flood and 2012 wildfires to promote "tourism and visitor-related jobs, job retention and/or economic impact," according to information Mackin provided to the City Council.

Loveland council members unanimously gave final approval Tuesday night to appropriate lodging tax money for the program. Mackin told them that because of the U.S. Highway 34 closure and Colorado Department of Transportation signs directing people to Longmont to get to the Big Thompson Canyon, Loveland was losing a lot of visitors that would have exited off I-25.

Mackin said Loveland is facing competition from Scheels in Johnstown, from Fort Collins, from Longmont and from Greeley.

Longmont, for example, has seen a 38 percent increase in its lodging tax this year, according to Mackin.

"Tell me that has nothing to do with the fact that all CDOT signage is pointing to them," she said.

The reason Centerra was chosen, she added, is because it has the infrastructure to sustain the event and the biggest return on investment.

People don't often care which jurisdiction they're shopping in, but the state  realized the potential for the sculpture park to draw from  the region,  according to Mackin.

But some downtown Loveland business owners argue that having the event at Centerra during the largest shopping holiday of the year would not only hurt their businesses by driving people away from them, but the McWhinney development does not need the assistance — it wasn't truly impacted by the flood, they say.

Mackin, however, said the state office told her that even if an entity in Fort Collins wanted to apply for the grant, it could — it's about helping address overall disaster impact in Northern Colorado, and the U.S. 34 closure between October and May affects tourism throughout the region. Additionally, she pointed out, the state still has funding remaining in that fund for others who are interested in applying.

"We're hoping that because of the location of where it's at, it won't just affect positively in Loveland but the entire region," she said.

One of the most vocal opponents of the effort is downtown business owner Jacki Marsh of Rabbask Designs, who has been spreading the word about the effort since the first council vote July 5.

She spoke at the meeting Tuesday night about how this event could put downtown Loveland business owners out of business because it spans over such a large period of time and that she hoped those small business owners would relocate to a city that is more friendly to its small businesses.

"You are sending shoppers from all over Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, Berthoud ... to a shopping mall with chain stores and away from local shops," she said.

Marsh said Centerra already receives $10 million to $12 million a year in tax-increment financing in addition to money from a public improvement fee.

Resident Roger Wiedelman, who spoke Tuesday night, however, attributed much of the frustration to what he called the "no growth movement" in Loveland and added that the downtown area is looking to do something similar to Centerra: receive tax-increment financing through its Downtown Development Authority.

Mackin said in 2017, 60 percent of marketing event dollars spent were for downtown Loveland events. Mayor Pro Tem John Fogle pointed out that the majority of the lodging tax funding comes from U.S. Highway 34 and I-25 — that's where the hotels are located.

But in an email to council members, Marsh said, "It is very hard to compare weekend events, spread throughout the year, to hijacking the Christmas shopping season for the five weeks preceding Christmas. All retail and restaurant businesses depend on a robust holiday season to carry them through the lean months."

Councilman Troy Krenning said the city needs to be working toward benefiting all of Loveland, not just downtown.

Reporter Saja Hindi covers local politics and public safety. You can follow her on Twitter @BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.