Denver proposal would direct $20 million in bonds to Boettcher Concert Hall and allow naming rights

A proposed Denver ordinance would direct $20 million in voter-approved general-obligation bond proceeds to repairs and improvements at Boettcher Concert Hall while exempting the building and some of its components from the city’s standard public-building naming procedure. Council Bill CB26-1124 had not been shown as passed by the City Council, signed by the mayor or published as of Aug. 13, 2026.

The bill outlines a $120 million funding framework: $20 million from the bonds, $85 million identified by the city’s Department of Arts & Venues and at least $15 million that the Colorado Symphony Association has voluntarily committed to raise. The figures total $120 million, but the bill does not establish that the $85 million has been appropriated or contractually committed. It also does not estimate potential naming-rights revenue.

Denver voters approved Question 2D on Nov. 4, 2025, authorizing $244.43 million in general-obligation bonds for city infrastructure and facilities, including Boettcher Concert Hall and other arts and cultural facilities, according to the city’s official 2025 ballot information.

What the proposal covers

The bill describes the project only as repairs and improvements to the existing concert hall. It provides no itemized scope, component-level cost estimates, construction phases, start or completion dates, or measurable milestones.

It would approve a Project Funding Agreement between Denver and the Colorado Symphony Association, filed with the City Clerk as Filing No. 202685266. The agreement is incorporated by reference rather than reproduced in the bill. The records reviewed do not establish its disbursement conditions, fundraising deadlines, reporting requirements or plans for cost overruns and funding shortfalls.

The bill says the city and the Symphony identified licensing naming rights for the building and its major components as a potential source of non-public funding. It does not name a prospective sponsor, set a minimum contribution or valuation formula, or specify how naming revenue would be accounted for or used.

Naming safeguards remain unresolved

The proposal would exempt the public building containing Boettcher Concert Hall, its major components and its immediate surroundings from the naming procedure in Section 2-275 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code.

The bill does not replace that procedure with a new public process. It does not specify who would select or approve a private name, require public notice or comment, impose donor or ethics review, limit commercial or political names, require independent valuation, establish a naming term, or provide for termination or restoration of a public name.

The text of the referenced funding agreement was not available in the records reviewed, and the current text of Section 2-275 could not be confirmed through the city’s online code library. Any additional safeguards in either document therefore remain unverified.

Council and mayoral status

The Parks, Art & Culture Committee approved the bill Aug. 4, and it received a Mayor-Council review date of Aug. 11. The official Aug. 11 Mayor-Council docket lists it as “Approved for Filing,” a procedural clearance that does not establish passage by the full Council or approval by the mayor.

The filed bill has blank fields for the Council passage date, mayoral approval and publication. The available record supports describing CB26-1124 as a pending proposal, not an enacted allocation or naming-rights authorization. The proposal states no construction or fundraising timeline.