Bees for Broncos

In case you haven’t heard, it’s official. The Outdoor Retailer Show has pulled up stakes from Utah and is heading to Colorado.

Organizers of the biannual $45 million event announced last week that they’d be taking the show on the road, from Salt Lake to Denver. While the decision was based on multiple factors, the outdoor industry noted in a February press release that one of the most important ones was the Utah government’s increasingly anti-public lands stance.

Upon that news, Colorado immediately began wooing OR away, complete with an ad campaign touting Colorado’s stronger beer, taller peaks, higher recreation (pun intended) and, most importantly, love for public lands.

“This announcement establishes Colorado as the national home of the fast-growing outdoor recreation industry,” Pete Maysmith, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado which helped fund the ads, said. “We are thrilled to host the Outdoor Retailer Show and use the opportunity to show off our epic public lands, our forward-thinking conservation policies, and the $28 billion contribution that outdoor recreation makes to our state’s economy.”

The five-year deal starts with the winter show in January 2018, which will take place at the Colorado Convention Center. It is estimated the total of 10 shows will bring 45,000 attendees and $45 million to the Mile High City.