Voters showed they were willing to spend money on Denver’s bond issues, with projects ranging from new libraries to park improvements. But they said no to the arena.
DENVER — Based on campaign finance contributions alone, Denver voters should have approved Mayor Michael Hancock’s proposed 10,000-seat arena and public market at the National Western Complex.
But that’s why they have the election.
The Yes on 2E campaign, Friends of the National Western Stock Show, raised about $900,000 to get voters to pass the bond issue that would use taxpayer funds to build a new arena and convert the 1909 Stadium into a public market.
The No on 2E campaign, No On Arena Bond, raised $3,200.
“It got us a lot of flyers. We mostly relied on flyers and talking to people on the streets,” said Sarah Lake, the head of No On Arena Bond.
Basically, for every $300 “Yes” had, “No” had $1.
“It says that money can’t buy votes,” said Lake.
“I don’t think, in any way, it’s a David vs. Goliath. I know it’s tempting for you people, the press, to say that. I get it,” said Pat Grant, chairman of Friends of the National Western Stock Show. “I really don’t think we had the time in which we could show what this really meant to National Western, and particularly to the city.”
Grant said it was timing, not money.
Originally, the city was seeking a P3 — public-private partnership — to fund the arena and public market. Then, that P3 idea was pulled and the mayor went to Denver City Council seeking to put the two projects on the ballot as part of the citywide infrastructure bond proposal, which was Ballot Issue 2A. City council requested that the arena and public market become their own bond issue on the ballot.
The infrastructure bond issue (2A), as well as the bond questions for money for homelessness (2B), transportation (2C) and parks and recreation (2D) all passed by no fewer than 23 points. The arena and public market (2E) failed by almost 17 points.
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“We did not have time to fully campaign and explain that proposal,” said Grant. “What the National Western wants is good for the whole city, and is particularly good for the residents of Globeville, Elyria and Swansea.”
“At the end of the day, what they were selling was a dream of the National Western, not a dream or the needs of my community or the people of Denver as a whole,” said Alfonso Espino, community organizer with Globeville, Elyria-Swansea (GES) Coalition.
Espino has lived in the GES area his whole life.
“Not all of them, but I’ve lived in various parts of the neighborhood,” said Espino. “I grew up mostly on Vine Street, up the street.”
The neighborhood is sandwiched between the Interstate 70 construction to the south and the Suncor refinery to the north.
“The coalition between the city and the National Western was really out of touch,” said Espino. “It’s pretty easy to find yourself, for example, being able to support a library, two new libraries in your community, that’s an easy, tangible, materialistic gain for your life. You can see the benefits of that. They’re spending efforts say that they tried their best, but on substance you can’t convince people when there’s nothing there tangibly that most people can actually benefit from.”
Espino and Lake would rather see the community get back land that is now part of the National Western Complex.
“That money would have been better spent just giving it to the community. Imagine if you took your nearly million dollars and just gave it to the idea of having equitable development,” said Lake.
The defeat of 2E does not mean a new arena and a public market are not coming.
A spokesman for Hancock said that the city has an obligation under a framework agreement to build a new arena and convert the 1909 building into a public market, and that the city will have to “get creative” to fund them.
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