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Here are five things to do at the Colorado State Fair in 2021. Video footage credit to Anthony Mestas.
Heather Willard, The Pueblo Chieftain
Pueblo could soon allow for entertainment and liquor districts that would include an area for adults to drink outside of typical restaurant and bar boundaries.
An entertainment district would allow for the creation of common consumption areas where adults can drink alcoholic beverages from various establishments in a common space. Rather than being confined to a bar’s patio, for example, a person could take their drink with them anywhere in the common consumption area.
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It’s a chance to create a framework for larger community festivals and events in Pueblo, especially in the downtown and Historic Arkansas Riverwalk area.
“This is more of a next phase of the massive investments we put into the Riverwalk and the convention center,” City Planner Bart Mikitowicz said. “Getting these entertainment districts in that area would create a centripetal force, which pulls developments towards the center instead of pushing it to the outside.
“That’s critical for a tax base. As far as real estate and sales tax goes, you want your downtown to be a motor.”
The district would be under a promotional association that would include a business that already has a liquor license. That business would then extend its license — and therefore its liability — to the common consumption area.
There are at least seven Colorado cities that have established entertainment districts including Windsor, Winter Park, Greeley, Black Hawk, Colorado Springs, Erie and Trinidad.
The city is leaning on learnings those cities to draft its own ordinance.
“We reached out to Trinidad to see how theirs was going,” Mikitowicz told city council during an Aug. 9 work session. “It’s pretty positive to them. The biggest unexpected draw was how much people liked going to see live music out in the streets.”
Mikitowicz sees opportunity for those types of large music events, as well as events hosted and sponsored by restaurants that connect to their brand identity.
“It would allow certain private businesses to attach themselves to the holidays based on what type of business they are,” he said. “Oftentimes during those holidays, they want to have a party or celebration or just something a little bigger than normal.”
It’s easy to imagine, for example, Shamrock Brewing Co. using the entertainment district for a larger St. Patrick’s Day bash. A group of businesses could come together to host a Fourth of July event in the summer or a Christmas market with local vendors in the winter, all with alcohol.
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Rules and regulations in the district
An entertainment district must be between 20,000 square feet and 100 acres. A common consumption area does not have to take up that whole space, in fact, there could be more than one common consumption area within one entertainment district.
The common consumption area would be closed to vehicle traffic and have physical barriers to limit pedestrian access. Colorado law mandates that alcohol in the area be served in disposable containers that are labeled with the vendor’s name and are no larger than 16 ounces.
Typical statutes against loitering, disorderly conduct and underage drinking would all apply in the common consumption area. The promotional association would be in charge of contracting its own security.
Mikitowicz presented an outline for a 95-acre downtown entertainment district that includes several smaller districts. A “Central Plaza” entertainment district, for example, could center on the intersection of City Center Drive and Main Street, and could include Bingo Burger, the Downtown Bar, BISTORO, First & Main Bar and Grill and Dee Tacko in its promotional association.
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Adding ‘vitality’ to Pueblo lifestyle
Randy Thurston, a former city council member who was part of the group that brought the idea to the city’s planning department, said it could be a boost to tourism.
“You look at Interstate 25 with all of the cars going up and down. There’s got to be a reason for them to pull off and spend sales tax dollars here,” he said. “There’s got to be a reason for them to stay here and use our restaurants and businesses.”
Tourism is one aspect, Mikitowicz said, but an entertainment district could also improve quality of life.
“In planning, we call it vitality,” he said. “It’s activity. It’s a sense of community. If you provide an engaging entertainment atmosphere for tourists, in theory the local people are going to have pretty much the exact same experience.”
The district would need to be created via ordinance by city council. At that Aug. 9 work session, council members indicated that they support the idea.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Pueblo City Councilman Mark Aliff said. “I think it’s a long time coming for the community. Districts like this make sense in a whole lot of communities. It really opens up the availability for businesses to flourish by creating events, live music, the whole thing.”
The language of that ordinance is still getting hammered out, according to Assistant City Attorney Kyle Aber. If passed, the district and common consumption areas most likely wouldn’t be fully implemented until next year.
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Chieftain reporter Sara Wilson can be reached via email at SWilson@gannett.com or on Twitter @WilsonSaraJane.
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