- Project remains on schedule for late 2023 completion -

Denver, CO (Jan. 12, 2023) – Reaching a key construction milestone, crews installed one of the final structural steel beams in the $233 million Colorado Convention Center (CCC) expansion project that will add improved meeting capacity and significant technological features to the best-in-class facility.

“This is a welcome milestone in the progress of the expansion, which will assist us with booking multiple groups simultaneously to maximize capacity,” said Richard W. Scharf, president and CEO of VISIT DENVER. “Ultimately, these improvements will pay huge dividends for years to come by generating new business for Denver in a very competitive industry.”

Expansion improvements currently underway include over 200,000 square feet, or the size of about four football fields, of new space that will feature an 80,000-square-foot multi-purpose ballroom, 35,000 square feet of pre-function space and a 20,000-square-foot rooftop terrace with sweeping 150-mile views of the Rocky Mountains.

The new additions are taking shape above the existing convention center, which remains in operation, requiring two 280-foot-tall tower cranes and a rooftop crane weighing nearly 1 million lbs., the equivalent of a 747 jumbo jet.

Upon completion in late 2023, the CCC expansion will help to ensure The Mile High City continues to be a global competitor in the meetings and conventions industry. Already a key economic driver for the city, the CCC upgrades are expected to generate an additional $85 million in annual economic impact.

Funding for the expansion included $104 million from Measure 2C passed by voters in 2015 and $129 million in Certificates of Participation (COP) issued in 2018, with repayment of the COPs derived from Tourism Improvement District revenues, a portion of the seat tax and excess revenues from the Convention Center Hotel.

*Image credit VISIT DENVER/Evan Semón, from left to right: Jason Lusk, Associate Vice President, VISIT DENVER; Jonathan Popiel, Project Manager, Hensel Phelps; Richard Scharf, President/CEO, VISIT DENVER; Rachel Benedick, Executive Vice President, Sales and Services, VISIT DENVER; Frank Delmonte, Director of Finance, Denver Arts & Venues, City and County of Denver gathering to celebrate the “topping out” of the CCC Expansion.

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About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau

Celebrating 114 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Denver welcomed more than 31.7 million visitors in 2021, generating $6.6 billion in spending, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs and making Tourism one of the city’s largest industries. Learn more about Denver on the VISIT DENVER website or at Tourism Pays Denver. Follow Denver’s social media channels for up-to-the-minute updates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

With press or photo inquiries, please contact:
Jesse Davis: (303) 571-9450 or jdavis@visitdenver.com

Abby Schirmacher: (303) 358-0096 or aschirmacher@visitdenver.com