More winter events would require staff, Estes Park department says

The Estes Park Events Department told trustees it would need more employees to add winter events while covering summer events and maintaining the Estes Park Events Complex. Organizers of Ski Jor and Frozen Dead Guy Days had sought the review.

Producers and owners of the two events wrote to the town, its trustees and the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors requesting a review of the complex’s winter event strategy. The letter assumed the town wanted more winter events but warned that existing pricing and structure could discourage organizers, a staff member said. The department now has 13 large annual winter events between November and April, up from four a decade ago.

Summer brings long hours, early starts, late nights and weekend work, leaving staff little time for facility and grounds maintenance, the department told trustees. Trustee Bill Brown urged the town to consider hiring more staff during budget season if it wants to support winter events. Trustee Frank Lancaster recalled extraordinary summer hours dating to the 1990s, when staff could take time off in winter. “That needs to be a staffing issue first,” Lancaster said.

The town’s events function had net costs of $1.9 million in 2025 on $2.9 million in total expenses, a staff member told trustees. The town expects its investment in events to benefit businesses and improve quality of life for residents and guests, the staff member said. Trustee Mark Igel opposed expanding winter-event support without fuller financial information. “We're missing a lot of financial information to be able to substantiate that,” Igel said.

A speaker warned that some restaurants and other businesses struggle to staff weekend events, with one business considering takeout-only service. Staffing up for just two or three days a week would be a difficult business model, the speaker said, urging caution before adding events. The same speaker said Visit Estes Park surveys ranked events low among visitors’ reasons for coming; visitors more often came for the mountains and outdoors, then attended events. Brown said bolstering the winter economy was part of the town’s strategic plan and that any change to that goal should be addressed through the plan.

A staff member said no other winter-event proposals were waiting for judgment. Igel said the proposal did not need to return unless another related subject arose. Mayor Gary Hall agreed.