Pete Coors Is A Man On A Mission

Extraordinary. That’s the one-word answer Pete Coors offers to neatly sum up what it will mean for the city of Denver, the West, the agriculture industry, and, by extension, all of America, when the new headquarters of the National Western opens in time to celebrate its 120th year this January. He would know. Coors has been the trailblazer at the heart of that colossal civic work, which has been described as “one of the nation’s most ambitious urban renewal projects.”

It’s an ambitious undertaking so long in development that the much-anticipated unveiling warrants much more than just one word. So Coors gives it a shot. “I’m not sure there’s an easy way to describe what we’ve created here,” says the Colorado native, former vice chairman of Molson Coors Brewing Company, one of the longest-serving board members of the Western Stock Show Association, and chairman of the National Western’s $150 million Honoring the Legacy ... Building the Future capital campaign. “It’ll be a bit crazy this first year. There’s going to be a lot of interest. We’ll be swamped with people just wanting to see it with their own eyes.”

While it’s uncertain exactly when the National Western Stock Show came to be dubbed the “Super Bowl of Stock Shows” (an honorific likely predating the Denver Broncos’ first championship season by at least a few decades), there’s no mistaking what 2026 represents for the cherished annual event and its hallowed grounds.

The world’s largest livestock show and festival (in terms of animal count alone) has been held every January at the National Western Complex a couple of miles north of downtown Denver since 1906. This season marks the dawn of its National Western Center era, featuring a complete redevelopment and reenvisioning of the 250-acre site into a year-round hub for numerous events, activities, and attractions. Kicking it off will be the 120^th National Western Stock Show (January 10–25) and the grand opening of The Legacy — the highly anticipated $100 million headquarters of the Western Stock Show Association (WSSA) and home to much more. Described by the Honoring the Legacy ... Building the Future campaign as “a gathering place, gallery, and watering hole for friends, cowboys, and art lovers alike,” the four-floor, 115,000-square-foot, multifunctional Legacy — with its art museum, heritage center, eight bars, dedicated conference and administrative floors, and elegant top story National Western Club floor — was about a decade in the making — winding along “a path full of challenges,” as Coors puts it. Thankfully, one buoyed by a remarkably successful capital campaign and “incredible interest and generosity of our numerous donors.”

The massive project’s rugged roadmap through delays, complications, escalating costs, and a pandemic “was always making sure we were being true to the Western culture and lifestyle we’re trying to preserve,” says Coors, whose family brewing business in the Centennial State spans 153 years and five generations. “We knew we wanted a landmark building that would be cherished not only by the National Western Stock Show but also by the community,” Coors adds. “And providing a future for National Western that will expand and enhance this regional asset into a world-class hub for agriculture, education, and innovation.”

In the run-up to the big reveal this January, we caught up with the avid outdoorsman, conservationist, and recent Western Visionary Award recipient from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to hear Coors’ take on Denver’s proudest new development and what he’s most looking forward to at the big 120th anniversary bash for the 2026 National Western Stock Show.

Cowboys & Indians: At the time of our interview, it’s still a few months out from the grand opening of The Legacy — the showcase headquarters of the Western Stock Show Association and jewel in the crown of the expansive, all-new National Western Center campus. So, we did the next best thing and took a Pete Coors-led virtual tour of the four-story, multifunctional facility that — in your own words — “represents a new day dawning for the National Western Stock Show.” Let’s start with the obvious question: If The Legacy were up and running right now, where would you choose to hold court for this chat?

Pete Coors: Probably in the Legacy Saloon — but I think I’ll be having a tough time deciding where to be at any given moment in this remarkable new structure. The Saloon shares our first floor, also known as Bank of Colorado Hall, with two wonderful spaces — including the Wold Family Heritage Center housing our enormous National Western Archives, and the Katherine and J. Robert Wilson Art Gallery for the WSSA’s Art Collection. The new club lounge and facilities up top [on the fourth floor], with its 35-foot skylit ceilings and Coors Family Terrace outfitted with firepits and spectacular views, will be a real draw, too. On the conference and meeting [second] floor, we’ll be accommodating functions of up to 700 participants, and the third floor will provide incredible new office space for the National Western staff. So, it’s going to be pretty hard to pinpoint any one favorite part of a place offering so much for our staff, private club members, and the public at large for generations to come. I know I’ll be enjoying and appreciating all of it.

A pen of champion 2-year-old Shorthorn steers in the historic Yards, shown by Walter Carlson in 1919. (Courtesy Rocky MT Photo Co., Denver)

C&I: Well, you can hardly build a Legacy building on these hallowed grounds without including a saloon, right? Was that an imperative?

Coors: We had some space on the entry floor slated as a retail area, which would be useful during the actual 16-day stock show [January 10–25, 2026] — but the rest of the year it would just be wasted space. So, I said, “Why don’t we put a saloon in there that can be used year-round?” It’ll be a smaller saloon, probably accommodating about 80 people, designed as a turn-of-the-century space, and I’m sure a very popular place.

C&I: Can you take us back to the beginning of this whole massive development? How did the WSSA’s Honoring the Legacy Capital Campaign originate alongside the larger National Western Center project with the city of Denver?

Coors: It started with an obvious need for new facilities. Our old ones were just wearing down. We were patching and mending as much as we could, but not very successfully, and we eventually concluded that that we needed a new building — one that would be embraced not only by the National Western Stock Show but also by the community. After looking at a variety of different sites, the WSSA entered into a landmark agreement with the city of Denver and Colorado State University to rebuild facilities on the current campus, located a couple of miles from downtown. The agreement with the city was for National Western to donate our land, valued at $75 million, with an obligation to raise an additional $50 million as part of the National Western Center project, valued at more than $750 million.

When I came on as chairman about nine years ago, I think at the time we had $3 million that had been donated by our former chairman, and nothing else — and the city told us they didn’t believe we’d be able to raise the full $50 million. I said, “Well, we’re obligated to do that, so we will — but where’s the new headquarters of the WSSA goingto be?” When the then-stock show CEO said that this wasn’t in the current plans, I said, “We can’t raise money without it.” Ultimately, we were able to reach terms with the city and move forward with The Legacy while setting up our campaign to encourage people — mostly in Colorado and throughout the West — to raise money for a building that was initially estimated at $50 million when the Capital Campaign began in 2016. That figure would balloon over the next several years to $100 million. It’s been a process.

C&I: You weren’t expecting this to be a nearly 10-year plan.

Coors: Originally, I said, “We’ll knock this off in six months.”

C&I: What was the biggest challenge over that span, besides escalating costs and other unthinkables like a global pandemic?

Coors: I’d say just dealing with delays and those inevitable hurdles with a project of this importance and magnitude. ... And that it can take the city longer than you’d hope to do their own planning and design work.

C&I: You’re one of the longest-serving WSSA board members—over 35 years. What inspired you to take the helm of such a massive project at this point in your tenure?

Coors: The stock show is something that’s been part of me since childhood. My mother took my brothers and me there when we were kids. It’s just kind of in my blood, and I now have a long history with the board, as well. When this campaign first came up, I was thinking about my kids and my grandkids — how they all love the stock show. They love the animals, the activities, the rodeo, the whole tradition that’s well over 100 years old. It was something I strongly felt we needed to perpetuate into the future. Those Western values, our culture, our way of life — they’re all an important part of that. You talk about the Code of the West, and everything that goes along with it. In order to preserve that, I strongly felt we needed a facility that would enable us to honor and continue this legacy — and that it was something really worth preserving. I have to emphasize though that the really extraordinary thing in this campaign is the incredible interest and generosity of our donors — which tells me that they really wanted to protect and preserve it as well. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for so many generous individuals and families who’ve really stepped up. I think they’re going to be very proud to have their names associated with what we’ve created.

Glenn Schoeling from Garber, Oklahoma, with his lamb, the 1932 Champion Hampshire Lamb in the Jr. Division. (Courtesy Smith, KC, MO)

C&I: When does The Legacy open, and what do you have planned for the donors?

Coors: We should take possession of the building in the first week in November. In December, we will have several events to recognize our donors, including a tour of this extraordinary new building. But it’s not just The Legacy that will be opening in time for the 2026 stock show; we also have the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center, which shares a wall with The Legacy, opening at the same time.

C&I: What’s your vision for the future of the National Western Stock Show with this new building and the creation of the National Western Center?

Coors: Traditionally, the National Western Stock Show has been for 16 days in January. Starting with our new headquarters, we’ll now be able to share our culture, facilities, and ideas with the broader public year-round.

C&I: What a leap — from 16 days to 365.

Coors: That was our vision from the start, and it really is such a huge and exciting transition. That’s why they now call it the National Western Center, because they’ll be managing the new livestock center and future equestrian center, which has been approved to be built in the next couple of years. National Western will have the rights to put on cattle shows, sales, and auctions in the facilities during the year. Anything beyond that will be up to the National Western Center to program. The new equestrian center will be a fantastic addition and home to some of the largest shows in the country.

Plus, we’re about two miles from downtown Denver, and I think this is a place where people will want to come and have lunch, take meetings, and engage in all kinds of programming and opportunities to highlight the West. The Legacy provides a new home for the WSSA’s art collection and archives, and we can now extend into becoming a year- round educational facility as well. Our tax-exempt status at National Western is all about education. We have over 20,000 schoolkids coming through during the stock show — in just 16 days. Now there will be plenty of great reasons to come here throughout the entire year.

C&I: What makes it a special place for families?

Coors: I think family is a key component of what the National Western is all about. Obviously, we’re about education, but watching any opportunity for young people to be around animals and see them up close during the stock show and hopefully other times during the year ... it’s priceless. I know this from my own experiences with 15 grandchildren.

C&I: That’s some good company. Will these new facilities be the rendezvous point for the whole Coors crew?

Coors: Absolutely. They love it here al- ready — going to the rodeo, shopping in the expo hall, and having all kinds of fun during the stock show. I know they’re all eagerly looking forward to experiencing what’s next. None of the grandkids have seen it — a couple of my kids have. It’ll be an eye-popper for them when they do. It’ll be fun.

C&I: What’s your favorite way to spend time with 15 grandkids?

Coors: At plenty of birthday parties. All but two of them live here in Denver, so there’s lots of those — and they’re all a big deal. We get together about twice a month to celebrate. We have a ranch out in the

Eastern Plains and spend Thanksgivings out there — about 28 of us all together. It gets quite crazy, in the best sense.

C&I: Congratulations on your recent Western Visionary Award. What do you think needs to be addressed in promoting and preserving Western culture these days — and are you optimistic?

Coors: I am. With all the divisiveness and uncertainties that exist in the political and macroeconomic climate, having an anchor in Western culture and lifestyle gives some sense of survivability, if you will, and I really feel good that what we’re doing will contribute to that. You know, when people come to the stock show, there’s no politics or special agenda. People come to have a good time, enjoy being around cowboys, and just take in the whole fun atmosphere. They put on the boots and hats — sometimes the chaps and spurs, too — and encourage anyone and everyone who wants to get involved to be an important part of it.

C&I: How about you? What is Pete Coors most looking forward to at the 2026 National Western Stock Show?

Coors: I just want to be there. After all of this work, just to be able to enjoy it and see others do the same will be a wonderful experience. I’m definitely looking forward to spending time in The Legacy. And also next door in the Sue Anschutz- Rodgers Livestock Center — watching the events going on in that amazing new facility and welcoming back exhibitors who’ve been coming to the National Western for three, four, five generations. I’ll enjoy seeing their reactions to the new campus. It’s just fun to be a part of it, as it always has been in the past. But this time will be a whole new experience.

From our January 2026 issue.

PHOTOGRAPHY (Pete Coors/Longhorns): Courtesy Jensen Sutta.