Pueblo loses bid to become new home of National Championship Air Races

Editor's note: This story was updated Friday afternoon to include a comment from Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham.

Pueblo has fallen short in its bid to host the 2025 National Championship Air Races.

The Reno Air Racing Association announced Thursday that it selected Roswell, New Mexico, to be the new host city of the races. The annual event had been searching for a new home and Pueblo was one of three finalist cities, but ultimately fell short.

The other city in the running to host was Casper, Wyoming.

“We’re thrilled to bring our honored tradition of racing to Roswell and are confident that they have both the enthusiasm and resources to expand the future of our races for many generations to come,” Fred Telling, CEO and chairman of the board for the Reno Air Racing Association, said in a news release.

“While Roswell was chosen, we are truly grateful for the overwhelming support, dedication and enthusiasm shown by all the communities who submitted their bids to host our event. It was incredibly difficult to select a final location as each venue had their own unique strengths and challenges. At the end of the day, we are thankful and deeply appreciative of the teams in Pueblo and Casper who invested their time and efforts in the process.”

Pueblo made a fierce bid to host the popular event, which features planes in different classes racing at breakneck speeds. The Home of Heroes submitted its proposal last August before a group of local leaders flew to Reno, Nevada, the longtime home of the air races, to watch them up close.

In October, Pueblo joined five other cities on a shortlist to host the event after submitting a “comprehensive proposal,” RARA said in Thursday’s release. Nearly 40 cities submitted a proposal.

RARA committee members visited Pueblo in November, their first site visit of all six cities.

Pueblo made the cut when the committee members whittled their list down to three after considering the venues’ ability to “host large crowds, handle hundreds of aircraft and support the large racecourse needed for the event,” among other factors.

Former Mayor Nick Gradisar pushed for Pueblo to host the air races, calling them an “economic driver.” Mayor Heather Graham was also enthusiastic about the possibility.

“The city of Pueblo wishes Roswell, New Mexico well with hosting the National Championship Air Races," Graham said in a statement to the Chieftain. "We have enjoyed the process of speaking with officials to potentially be a host site and we know our city offers incredible amenities, beautiful weather, a welcoming community and more for large scales events like what RARA has proposed with the air races.”

RARA will host one final air show in Reno this year before making the move to Roswell, which will mark the return of the air races.

The races had been an annual fixture in Reno since 1967, but the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority decided to end its participation in the 59-year-old event because of “the region’s significant growth amongst other concerns,” the association’s board of directors wrote in a letter.

Other “contributing factors” to ending the races in Reno were concerns over “challenging economic conditions, rapid area development, public safety and the impact on the Reno-Stead Airport and its surrounding areas,” the RTAA said in a news release.

The high-flying spectacle has generated significant support among well-known aviators and thousands of spectators in Reno each year because of the thrill of the races. But it’s also had its share of critics, some of whom feel it's too dangerous for pilots and at times, spectators.

RARA reported the event contributed over $100 million annually to Reno and brought more than 1 million visitors to the city in the past 10 years.

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Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's bid to host National Championship Air Races comes up short