John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, told the Denver Post he’d be open to working with the organizers of the Outdoor Retailer show about bringing the semi-annual trade show to Denver.
“We are always going to make the argument ‘Here’s why Colorado is better,’” he said.
The interview came as Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard and Black Diamond Founder Peter Metcalf each in mid-January separately penned letters to Utah’s legislators, including Gov. Gary Herbert, to back off plans for the state to take control of federal public lands, and in some cases lease portions of those lands to drilling and mining companies. If Utah moves forward nonetheless, then the outdoor industry should use its economic clout of the semi-annual Outdoor Retailer Winter and Summer Market trade shows in Salt Lake City to move the events out of the state, Chouinard and Metcalf argued.
Metcalf was quoted in the Denver Post article supporting a move to Denver.
Hickenlooper told the newspaper the recent passage of the bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act in Colorado will “allow Colorado to make a really compelling case to the outdoor industry.”
