So on June 28, the Denver City Council announced a possible new location for the National Western—but it is outside the city and county of Denver line in Aurora and Adams County. That would send tax revenues from the National Western to Aurora and not Denver, unless some kind of intergovernmental agreement can be worked out.

The planned site has stirred the regional pot even more because the National Western, held in the city for the past 105 years, is a Denver tradition that attracts more than a half-million people to its shows, with an annual economic impact of $83 million, according to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. The proposed move to Aurora would further draw tourism dollars away from downtown Denver.

Also, Denver would have to release the National Western from its lease in the current space, which goes until 2040, and ask Denver voters to raise taxes to finance $150 million in construction bonds for the new $300-million complex in Aurora.

One downtown Denver businessman, Steve Weil, president of Rockmount Ranch Wear, told The Denver Post that the whole idea of moving the stock show out of Denver is "bogus."

But many of the downtown business owners and supporters contacted for this story would not comment yet, saying they are waiting for the results of a study due out in mid-August commissioned by interested downtown parties about the impact of the National Western move out of Denver.

“We're trying not to make this a divisive issue,” one association official said.