Greeley voters demand a say on $1.1B entertainment district

By Heather Willard | FOX31

DENVER (KDVR) — In April, Greeley City Council voted 5-2 in favor of building a new entertainment district, bringing an arena for the Colorado Eagles, a waterpark, apartments and retail space to the area, but now there are concerns about how the project was advanced.

The project has two main portions: Catalyst, the city-owned project and entertainment district, will cost about $832 million, which will go toward three ice rinks, a hotel and a water park, among other costs; and Cascadia, the private residential and commercial area owned by The Water Valley Company.

A Greeley City Council meeting held Sept. 2 had a lengthy public comment period, mainly focused on the Catalyst Greeley West project, that lasted for nearly an hour. Many who spoke during the public comment period raised concerns that the city council had approved an ordinance instead of putting the matter to a public vote, as it would use taxpayer dollars.

On Aug. 31, an initiative petition filed by Greeley citizens was found by a hearing officer to be not eligible to be placed on the ballot because the repeal of the city’s ordinance would be administrative in nature.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY AT FOX31