The Ranch opens 21-acre Event Lawn during Larimer County Fair

The Ranch Events Complex opened its new 21-acre Event Lawn in Loveland on July 31, becoming the first completed project in the campus’s Phase II master plan. The lawn is being used during the 2026 Larimer County Fair, which continues through Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The opening gives The Ranch a new large outdoor space while the rest of the county-owned campus redevelopment remains in progress. The Ranch is at 5280 Arena Circle in Loveland, where the fair and other events are held.

A new outdoor venue at The Ranch

The Event Lawn is intended for large outdoor events, including concerts, festivals, fairs, sports and other gatherings. Its first public use comes during the Larimer County Fair, making the facility an operating part of the campus rather than a future proposal.

The July 31 ribbon-cutting did not complete the broader Phase II plan. The Ranch’s April 2026 master-plan explanation identifies the Event Lawn as one part of a larger set of projects scheduled for the 2025-2030 Phase II period.

What remains in Phase II

The publicly funded Phase II list includes an outdoor amphitheater, event-plaza improvements, infrastructure, wayfinding and monument signage, roadway and utility upgrades, a youth hockey and sports facility, a 4-H-sanctioned outdoor archery range, and expansion and modernization of Blue Arena.

The plan also identifies an exposition center and a full-service hotel as Phase II public-private partnership projects. The Ranch says those components would use partnership and alternative funding models rather than the county’s dedicated 0.15% sales-and-use-tax funding.

That public-versus-private distinction is important for residents following construction and public spending at The Ranch. The Event Lawn is completed and open, while the other listed projects remain at different planning, funding or development stages.

County financing covers the broader plan

Larimer County’s 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report says the county issued $110 million in Certificates of Participation for the expansion of The Ranch and Phase II of its master plan. The certificates consist of approximately $80 million in Series 2025A and $30 million in Series 2025B. The financing applies to the broader Ranch program, not to the Event Lawn alone.

The county’s 2026 adopted budget lists approximately $11.04 million in 2026 principal and interest for Certificates of Participation tied to the Ranch Master Plan. The budget also describes a new annual transfer of approximately $10.6 million from The Ranch to a debt-service fund beginning in 2026.

Those figures describe county financing and budget commitments associated with the larger Phase II program. They do not establish that every planned project has been completed or that the Event Lawn itself cost $110 million.

What changes for Loveland

The immediate change for residents, visitors and event organizers is a new 21-acre outdoor venue already in use during the county fair. The space is designed to support the fair and other large gatherings at The Ranch as the campus’s remaining public and public-private projects move through development.

The Event Lawn is open, but The Ranch’s redevelopment is ongoing. For Loveland residents and taxpayers, the next questions will involve which Phase II projects advance, how their funding is structured and how the county’s annual Ranch-related financing commitments are reflected in future budgets.

Sources

• The Ranch Phase II master-plan explanation
• Larimer County 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report