Convention Center Faces $3M Overrun

DENVER-The $309-million Colorado Convention Center expansion that will open this December, faces a $3.2-million overrun due to change orders, down slightly from an earlier projection of about a $3.4-million overrun. But Jack Finlaw, the city of Denver’s director of theaters and arenas, says not to worry–it won’t be necessary to tap the general budget to make up the deficits.

One trick Finlaw has up his sleeve is to sell the naming rights for a 35,000-sf ballroom and a 50,000-sf ballroom in the center. He estimates that he can sell the naming rights for $1 million to $1.5 million for a 10-year deal.

But City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth says that the city must be careful not to let anyone get the rights. “You don’t want it to be the Playboy ballroom, I wouldn’t think,” she says.