The state’s largest ballroom and a downtown Denver rooftop terrace are highlights
An exciting project has launched in downtown Denver, one that has experienced its fair share of delays making a “raise the roof” ceremony in September 2021 especially sweet. The event officially kicked off the Colorado Convention Center expansion.
The 200,000-square-foot development should be complete in late 2023 and is happening on the rooftop of the original building. The project includes a new 80,000-square-foot, column-free ballroom; new pre-function and networking spaces; cutting-edge technology improvements; and a rooftop outdoor terrace with sweeping panoramic views of both the city and Rocky Mountains.
Colorado Convention Center opened in 1990, and Denver voters approved the first expansion in 1999, which doubled the building’s size. This expansion was completed in December 2004, and the 1,100-room Hyatt Regency Denver opened directly across the street one year later. Since then, Denver has seen phenomenal growth in hotel building and convention business. A feasibility study in 2013 led to the 2015 voter-approved Colorado Convention Center expansion and improvements on the National Western Center campus.
“The Colorado Convention Center has been a huge economic driver for Denver’s economy for decades, already able to host 95 percent of existing conventions,” says Rachel Benedick, executive vice president of sales at VISIT DENVER. “This expansion will allow Denver to continue to be a leader in the meetings, conventions and hospitality industries for years to come—capturing larger gatherings that were not able to meet here before and bringing new visitors to stay and play in our community, further bolstering our economy.”