The Parks, Art and Culture Committee of the Denver City Council met on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 10:30 AM in the City and County Building. The committee approved four action items and one consent item. All approved actions were unanimous. A minor discrepancy exists between the official minutes (which list Chair Shontel Lewis as present) and the transcript (where Councilmember Flor Alvidrez states she is stepping in for Chair Lewis).
Red Rocks Backstage Expansion and Accessibility Improvements (26-1258) – The committee approved a $4,450,983.25 contract with Short-Elliott-Hendrickson, Inc. for architectural and engineering design services. The project, funded through the Vibrant Denver Bond (total project budget $35.1 million), will construct a five-story building (two stories below grade) to replace the existing backstage area built in the 1940s. Key improvements include ADA compliance (elevator, proper stage access), covered parking, a kitchen and dining room, and production offices, all while preserving sightlines and the historic rock character. Construction will occur over multiple off-seasons to avoid impacting concert schedules, with design continuing through 2026 and excavation expected in fall/winter 2027. Councilmember Alvidrez expressed concern about the phased construction timeline and budget risk; Councilmember Sawyer emphasized maintaining the unique backstage rock experience. The project is a Denver and national historic landmark, requiring review by Denver Landmark Commission.
Three Vibrant Denver Bond Funding and Assignment Agreements (26-1255, 26-1256, 26-1257) – Each for $3,000,000 with an end date of December 31, 2031:
We out here. Elevate Denver Go Bond. We appreciate the Denver voters. Welcome back to this monthly meeting of the Parks Arts and Culture Committee of Denver City Council. Join us in the Parks Arts and Culture Committee starting now. September 1st. I would like to welcome my colleagues if Councilman Watson wants to start with introductions. Daryl Watson, Fine District 9. Hi everyone, Sedana Gonzalez Cochetas. Councilmember at Large. Hi, Amanda Slayer, District 5. And I'm Flora Vidres. I'm stepping in for Chair Lewis at the moment. But we can go ahead and get started with our wonderful presentation, which everyone is very excited about. About the Vibrant Bond projects. Go ahead, take it away. Awesome. I'm Patrick Riley, I'm the program director for the Vibrant Denver Bond Office. I'm Tad Bowman, I'm the venue director for Red Rock Samphitheater in the Denver Coliseum for Arts and Venues. So we have four actions that we're bringing forward today. And then a funding assignment agreement for the Denver Center for Performing Arts. So jumping right into Red Rocks. Music is this uh wonderful, amazing thing, and Red Rocks gets to be this incredible venue that we have as a city where you can go and you can be absolutely alone in a sea of 9900 people and you get to experience this unique individual thing with 9900 strangers, and you get to uh be completely alone and somehow in tune with all of these other people at the same time. Uh for me personally, my first show up there was in 2014 uh for 9 inch nails and uh got shocking. Um I I got to watch Chris Cornell and his last show in Colorado uh before his passing. Um got to experience that with like all these strangers and it was like this beautiful moment. Uh you might have got to watch Stevie Wonder close with superstition, his first time playing. You might have been at the only show that Jeremy Hendricks ever played, which there's no photos or videos of. You could have been there when Miss Diana Ross came out to um coming out. It could have been there for Fish in '94, Dave Matthews in 95. You could have been there for Zach Bryan and the Snow Rock Show. Um 284. You two in 1983, sir. Uh the only time that they've ever played. Last show ever. Yes. Red Rocks. June, June 5th. Yeah. So 4400 fans and a half full venue in the cold. Uh the day that I always say Red Rocks became Red Rocks. But what's what's amazing about Red Rocks in particular is I've been to hundreds, if not thousands of shows, and uh I don't remember a lot about a lot of them, but I remember every single time I've walked through the doors of Red Rocks for a show. And my guess is my experience is no different than a lot of yours. Uh so it's a it's a fantastic venue that is this icon that we are so so grateful to have, and I'm so personally pleased to see this finally come to fruition. I don't know if you want to say anything and prepare you for. So what this project is is an expansion to the backstage area. So right now there's a parking lot there. We plan on building a five-story building there, a good chunk of it underground. We understand that the building needs to be subordinate to the stage. It has to disappear.