Contact: Jessica Goad, 720-206-4235

Conservation Colorado this morning announced a campaign to bring the Outdoor Retailer show to Denver after the show’s contract with Salt Lake City expires in the summer of 2018.

The organization will be urging decision-makers in the outdoor industry to choose Colorado as the new location for the show based on the state’s long record of investing in and protecting national parks, monuments, forests, and other public lands.

The campaign will kick off with paid advertisements in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News touting the assets that Colorado offers when compared to Utah, including stronger beer, taller peaks, “higher” recreation, and, most importantly, a deep commitment to public lands.

“There’s no better place than Colorado when it comes to protection and stewardship of our public lands,” said Pete Maysmith, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado. “From embracing our newest national monuments, to being the first state to establish a holiday to celebrate our lands, to soundly defeating eight bills in our state legislature that would have turned our lands over to private interests, we fully recognize the myriad benefits that public lands bring to our state and to the nation.”

The Outdoor Retailer show brings $45 million to Utah in direct spending each year, and its leaders announced last week that they are “exploring location options” beyond Salt Lake City in part due to the state of Utah’s continued antagonism towards and attacks onAmerica’s public lands. The industry recently noted that an important consideration in choosing the new location of the show will be whether it “upholds our industry’s core values around the importance of America’s public lands system.”

In addition to the advertisements, Conservation Colorado’s campaign will also include working with outdoor businesses and tourism associations to make the case for Colorado as the new location for the Outdoor Retailer show, as well as digital media advertising to key decision-makers.