Denver gives 'friendly' sales pitch to Boeing

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 2, 2001 | by Barry Bortnick

DENVER - Some of Denver's and Colorado's most familiar leaders tried to persuade a handful of Boeing executives Tuesday to make their new home in the Mile High City.

Breakfast at the Governor's Mansion with Gov. Bill Owens, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, ex-Bronco quarterback John Elway and about 20 community and business leaders began a friendly but hopeful two-day corporate sales pitch.

"It was friendly. It was done lightly, not a hard-core feel," said Daniel Ritchie, chancellor at the University of Denver.

The aerospace giant said last month it was leaving its Seattle hometown of 85 years for either Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth or Chicago. The other two cities already have made their best pitches for Boeing's new corporate headquarters, which will oversee about 198,000 employees worldwide, including about 240 in Colorado Springs.

Boeing officials will decide by the end of May. As many as 400 executives will relocate. The company's main aircraft manufacturing operations will remain in the Seattle area.

If Denver wins, the selection would be a serious economic boon to the city.

A team of 100 community and business leaders was formed to present a unified front for the corporate giant. Several spoke during the breakfast meeting.

Elway, a Super Bowl MVP, described Denver as a community of loyal fans and employees. Corporate leaders such as Jim Crowe, president of Level 3 Communications, said surveys of recent college graduates put Denver near the top of towns where young employees wanted to live.

Also in attendance was former space shuttle astronaut Ron Sega of Colorado Springs.

"I think it went well," said Sega, who is a dean at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. "(Boeing representatives) were an extremely positive group, but they did not tip their hand in any direction at all."

John Warner, Boeing senior vice president and chief administrative officer, said the three-city race is dead even.

Denver officials, meanwhile, have taken a low-key approach to the sales job. As has been the practice in Chicago and Dallas, Boeing executives eventually left the politicians and toured the metro area on their own.

"Boeing wants to get a hands-on feel," said Andrew Hudson, Webb's spokesman. "When you buy a car you don't want the dealer in the back seat telling you how good the car is."

Owens and Webb said Denver can't match the tax incentives of Dallas and Chicago. "What we have in terms of lifestyle, economic viability and education more than makes up for that deficiency," Owens said.

Warner said economic incentives are a factor "but not the major factor. ... This decision will outlive those who make it."

Webb, a Chicago native and Owens, who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, made sure the Boeing team understood the advantages of relocating to Colorado.

"We're both here," Owens said, referring to himself and Webb. "What does that tell you"?

- Staff writer Rich Laden contributed to this story.