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Colorado - Mon. 03/23/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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AFTER DISMAL WINTER FOR TOURISM, IS THERE HOPE FOR SUMMER?
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Resort reservation management and research firm Inntopia, in its latest market report, documented just how bad the winter season was for resorts in Colorado and Utah. The month of February finished with a 5.5 percent decrease in revenue for Colorado and Utah resorts compared to last year, versus a 6.5 percent increase for the “rest of the west.” Occupancy for the full winter season from November through April, including on-the-books and completed visits, was down 5.1 percent across all of Inntopia’s markets as of Feb. 28. So far, the western region has seen declines in all six months of the winter season.
The news isn’t all bad. Data from Inntopia also shows that as bookings for winter arrivals weakened, the opposite occurred with bookings from May through August. On-the-books occupancy for May through August is up 4 percent in Colorado and Utah compared to the same time last year, while the rest of Inntopia’s western states are up 5 percent. The average daily rate is up a notable 7.9 percent across the region, also with increases in all four months.
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WILL KROENKE’S REBUILD OF THE BALL ARENA REGION HAVE A TUNNEL FROM MUSK?
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The Boring Co. is a Texas-based company owned by Elon Musk that drills tunnels, the one in Las Vegas connecting the airport to the convention center. In January, The Boring Co. announced that it would build a tunnel up to a mile long, free of charge, in the location that made the best proposal. On March 2, The Boring Co. announced the 16 finalists from 487 entries and among them was the 330-foot pedestrian tunnel proposed by Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE). The tunnel would connect Ball Arena with downtown amusement park Elitch Gardens and the nearby Denver Regional Transit District Ball Arena/Elitch Gardens Station. KSE owns both the Ball Arena and Elitch Gardens. It is currently redeveloping 58 acres around Ball Arena.
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DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT SHOULD BE A STATE LANDMARK?
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The “America 250-Colorado 150 Commission,” an initiative celebrating America’s 250 years of independence and Colorado’s 150 years of statehood, announced a new Historic Marker Program. The Historic Marker Program will allow local organizations, historians and residents to propose historic landmarks. The proposals will be reviewed “through a multi-step process designed to ensure each historical marker is accurate, inclusive and supported by the local community,” according to the commission. Residents who propose markers are required to submit historical documents and letters of support. The process will result in 150 markers being added over a seven-year period. To review the list of national and state register properties and landmarks, go to historycolorado.org/national-state-register-listed-properties. For complete information and guidelines on the landmark program, go to historycolorado.org/colorado-150.
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BULLS & BEATS: BIG WEEKEND AT CSU THIS SUMMER
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Colorado State University will host a major summer event July 10-12 at the CSU Canvas Stadium, Bulls & Beats. The “Bulls” will be the inaugural Collegiate All-Star Rodeo and two Professional Bull Riders competitions, followed each night by “Beats” with Brad Paisley in the first concert (July 10) followed the next two nights by Bailey Zimmerman (July 11) and Miranda Lambert (July 12). The Collegiate All-Star Rodeo, sponsored by PBR and Learfield College Rodeo, will feature two teams of 30 college rodeo athletes apiece, competing head-to-head in nine rodeo events. Rosters will be announced in June, following the conclusion of the spring college rodeo season. Rodeo athletes will compete for $180,000 in total prize money, one of the largest single-event payouts in collegiate rodeo history, organizers said.
The team-based competition will feature head-to-head, one-on-one matchups in timed events (barrel racing, breakaway roping, team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and goat tying) and one-on-one competition in a back-to-back format in roughstock events (bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding). The fastest time or highest score in each one-on-one matchup earns a point for their team, with three total points available per discipline. Tickets are on sale at csurams.evenue.net.
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GRAND VALLEY FRUIT GROWERS HOPE TO MAKE IT ANOTHER 6 WEEKS WITHOUT FROST
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The Talbott family has been growing fruit in the Palisade area for more than 100 years and Bruce Talbott said that this is the earliest bloom for peaches that he can ever remember. It is at least three weeks earlier than normal, and although the warm weather is forecast to remain for a while, Talbott says the frost danger lasts until early May. David Sterle, a research scientist at the Colorado State University Western Colorado Research Center, said the early bloom increases the danger of frost damage because the trees become less tolerant of cold after blooming.
Sterle said, “Basically, from bloom on they’re quite susceptible to frost risk at 26 degrees.” Talbott said he starts to see significant damage to his crop at around 28 degrees once the trees are in full bloom. Even if the peach crop makes it without frost damage, the early bloom and resulting early fruit development can be impacted by the lack of irrigation water during this stage and that affects the size and quality of the fruit.
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CORDILLERA TO INSTALL WILDFIRE SENSORS, JUST THE 2ND LOCATION IN THE U.S.
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Cordillera, the gated community up the hill from U.S. Hwy. 6 about two miles from Edwards, has only one entry and exit route and if a wildfire were to ignite, timing is critical. Cordillera this summer will install a new European wildfire technology from a German company, Dryad Networks, designed to detect fires immediately, even in the smoldering stage. The system utilizes solar-powered sensors, about the size of a cell phone, which hang from a stake drilling into a tree or from a pole. The sensors can detect several fire-related signals, including temperature, humidity and air pressure, along with levels of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This gives the sensor the ability to identify a fire when it is still in the smoldering stage before it becomes an open fire.
Should a fire start, the sensors, through a cloud-based network, will pinpoint almost exactly where it is located, enabling firefighters to go right to the scene. Cordillera purchased 1,100 Dryad sensors for between $300,000 and $400,000. The sensors will be installed throughout the metro district’s 3,500 acres of open space between April and August. Hugh Fairfield-Smith, division chief of wildland for the Eagle River Fire Protection District, is so convinced of Dryad's effectiveness that he looks to install them throughout Eagle County over the next three years.
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“STATE OF THE RIVER” UPPER COLORADO, THE BLUE
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Jon Ewert, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife aquatic biologist, gave a “State of the Fish” presentation March 16 in Silverthorne. Ewert covered three sections of the Blue River as well as a section of the Colorado River west of its convergence with the Blue and just north of Summit County. He presented data on fish population and stocking strategies used in these areas:
- The Blue River - Green Mountain Canyon: the Green Canyon has consistently met and exceeded Gold Medal requirements. Rainbow trout are stocked annually in the canyon.
- The Blue River - Silverthorne: CPW says if natural trout reproduction in an area with Gold Medal status is not sufficient to maintain the status, the agency may supplement the natural population. CPW stocks large rainbow trout in the Silverthorne section.
- The Blue River - Campground Station: The only section of the Blue River without Gold Medal status runs from the Silverthorne town limits to Green Mountain Reservoir. CPW stocks the area with rainbow trout.
- The Colorado River - Radium: CPW surveys the two-mile stretch from Mary's Wall to Radium Bridge, and it still meets Gold Medal requirements but there are concerns over fewer and smaller fish.
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IT WAS 150 YEARS AGO, THE STATE HAD A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
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In mid-March, 1876, the Rocky Mountain News noted that there were temperatures in the 60s, followed by the first spring rain, then back to snow. Denver was bustling with activity, and amid it all were the deliberations of 39 delegates to Colorado’s constitutional convention. They worked nearly three months before reading aloud the proposed 21,000-word constitution near midnight on March 14. Thirty-one delegates signed the constitution that night, and the remaining eight signed the following morning, some by proxy. Colorado voters would get the final say in a constitutional referendum scheduled for July 1. The Colorado Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by voters on July 1, 1876, with 15,443 votes in favor and approximately 4,039 to 4,062 opposed, leading to statehood on Aug. 1, 1876.
During the months of deliberations, there were heated debates over women’s suffrage, school funding, taxation of church property, corporate regulation, the structure of the state’s judiciary, the size and apportionment of its legislature, and other issues. A particularly perplexing issue to the delegates related to the “troublesome and vexed questions pertaining to corporations.” According to reports of the convention, that issue had caused “more anxiety and concern” than any other topic.
- Total expenses for the 65 days it had spent formally in session ran to $29,945...more than two-thirds of which went to delegates themselves, in the form of $6 per diem payments and mileage reimbursements.
- The News, the Denver Daily Times and the Denver Tribune each received a share of the convention’s $2,330 printing budget.
- The cost of coal and firewood to heat the chambers ran to $45.
- The Rocky Mountain News printed the constitution in its entirety the day after the convention adjourned on March 15.
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THE VALUE OF DENVER’S PRO SPORTS TEAMS
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Sportico, the digital media platform that covers the business, finance, legal and technology sectors of the global sports industry, released its valuations of the five major American sports leagues last week. Here were the rankings of the teams in Denver:
- The Denver Broncos were valued at $6.55 billion; 15th most valuable in the NFL; 22nd most valuable overall
- The Denver Nuggets: $4.8 billion; 17th in the NBA; 53rd overall
- The Colorado Avalanche: $1.81 billion; 20th in the NHL; 103rd overall
- The Colorado Rockies: $1.68 billion; 24th in MLB; 109th overall
- The Colorado Rapids: $480 million; 28th in MLS; 152nd overall
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WHERE DO WE GO MOST OFTEN? FLYING FROM DIA 2025
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The average daily passengers on nonstop flights originated from Denver International Airport for the 12 months ending June 30, 2025:
- Phoenix, AZ (PHX): 2,077
- Las Vegas, NV (LAS): 1,645
- Chicago, IL (ORD): 1,535
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX): 1,451
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP): 1,401
- Seattle, WA (SEA): 1,368
- Orlando, FL (MCO): 1,287
- New York, NY (LGA): 1,279
- Atlanta, GA (ATL): 1,256
- Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW): 1,246
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MARKET UPDATE - 03/20/2026 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 03/19/2026)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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