Why Colorado for Your Next Meeting or Event?
The Centennial State has a wealth of outdoor event and adventure space, and more indoor meeting space is on the way. Denver is in the process of expanding the Colorado Convention Center, and in Colorado Springs, The Broadmoor hopes to add more square feet for exhibits by spring 2020.
Denver
EVENT VENUES, ADDITIONS & RENOVATIONS
Raw Space With Promise
At the
People’s Building in Aurora, the Gallery has floor-to-ceiling windows and a bar, while the Flex features an LED wall and retractable seating.
• Despite delays, plans remain firm to expand the Colorado Convention Center with an extra 80,000 square feet of meeting space and 100,000 square feet of event space (including a 50,000-square-foot rooftop terrace with Rocky Mountain views), along with technology upgrades.
• The 201-room Jacquard Hotel & Rooftop, an Autograph Collection property from Marriott, has debuted with 6,900 square feet of event space and a 75-foot rooftop pool that can be covered for events.
• The 1,231-room Sheraton Denver Downtown has been sold and will be renovated. The hotel has 133,000 square feet of meeting space.
• A music venue for up to 3,950 people, the Mission Ballroom, opens this fall. Plans call for a flexible stage, great sight lines and an advanced sound system.
• The 400-room Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel, built in 1986, has completed a $15 million renovation. The guest rooms and approximately 40,000 square feet of meeting space were redone, as were the lobby and the hotel’s dining options. A new American regional eatery, Fifty300, has a ski-lift motif. bit.ly/2DBeekz
• Built in the 1920s as a movie palace (the marquis still lights up the block), the Gothic Theatre was repurposed in the 1990s as an event venue, with all the art deco details refreshed. Holding up to 1,100, the facility hosts concerts and more.
Marketplace
In the RiNo ‘hood, the 100-room
Source Hotel anchors two breweries and Source Market Hall, a former 1880s iron foundry with 25 craft and food vendors.
NEXT DOOR TO DENVER
The city of Aurora has instituted a $2 destination marketing improvement fee per room night, hoping to bring in an extra $3 million per year to promote the city. The charge is in addition to the city’s 13 percent total tax on hotel rooms. Meeting hotels in Aurora include the 249-room Hyatt Regency Aurora Denver and the brand-new 1,501- room Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center.
MEETING HOTELS
More than 8,600 guestrooms are within walking distance of the Colorado Convention Center. To find and compare hotels, and send RFPs, visit Northstar Meetings Group’s new venue finder.
COLORADO CONVENTION CENTER
Colorado Convention Center; exhibit space, 584,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 63.
TRANSPORTATION
Denver International Airport, about 30 miles from downtown. Transfer cost to downtown:
- By taxi, $68
- By Lyft and Uber, about $40
- By Super Shuttle, $31
TAXES
- Room tax, 10.75%
- Sales tax, 4%
- Tax on hotels with 50 or more rooms, 1%
- Total tax on hotel rooms, 14.75% (15.75% in larger hotels)
CONTACT: Visit Denver
Colorado Springs
EVENT VENUES, ADDITIONS & RENOVATIONS
• The 784-room Broadmoor is awaiting city approval to add a 150,000-square-foot exhibit hall to its 185,000 square feet of meeting space. Work could begin this year so the new space will be ready for the Space Symposium in April 2020.
• The city plans to build the $60 million Colorado Sports and Event Center, featuring two multipurpose venues for professional, Olympic and amateur sporting contests, as well as entertainment and cultural events.
10 Awesome Attractions in the Mile High State
- Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver - nature
- Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs - nature
- Rocky Mountains - nature
- Main Street, Breckenridge - landmark
- Peak to Peak Scenic Byway, Estes Park - scenic drive
- Colorado Chautauqua: Park, Boulder - nature
- Maroon Bells, Aspen - nature
- Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum, Durango - scenic railroad
- Boreas Pass Road, Breckenridge - scenic drive
- Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs - nature