A multipurpose events center at Ewing Mesa is set to enter the planning stage this year.
Co-founder of Mercury Payment Systems, Mark Katz, bought 1,850 acres on Ewing Mesa adjacent to Horse Gulch in 2015 and announced that he would turn it into a outdoor recreation and concert venue.
He plans to donate about 200 acres to La Plata County for an events center, and county staff intends to start the master planning process for that project this year, Assistant County Manager Joanne Spina said.
The county has heard for a long time that the La Plata County Fairgrounds is inadequate. For example, it does not have enough parking, she said.
The master planning process will include outreach to determine what the community wants to see at an events center.
“It’s very much an exploration of possibilities and opportunities,” she said.
However, it could take years for construction to start, and the county does not know how an events center would be funded, she said.
“This is very much a first step,” she said
The deadline for proposals from consultants who will do the master plan is Jan. 16, she said.
The county budgeted $270,000 of Colorado lottery funds for the master plan because those funds must be used on outdoor recreation projects, she said. However, the county may not need to spend the budgeted amount, she said.
The planning process could take a year or longer, she said.
Katz met with Durango City Council this week to discuss the project. The city will be including information about the area in its comprehensive plan update. This plan helps guide future city growth decisions.
The space could host high school mountain bike racing, summer festivals and more equestrian events than the fairgrounds, said Katz and Moira Compton, who is helping him with the project.
Large competitions draw in visitors and boost the local economy. But there are lots of other possibilities as well, they said.
“It’s kind of a big vision and it’s going to take time,” Katz said.
There is an access road, but new roads for the property could be the most expensive part of the project, he said.
The wooded ridge on the property should remain open space, but it’s up to the people of Durango to help decide how the land is developed, he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
