Does Denver need a new 10,000-seat arena?
If you got your ballot and voted on Referred Question 2E, you've basically answered this question. It's the measure asking if the city should borrow $190 million to pay for building a new arena and renovating the 1909 Stadium Building.
It's one of five questions on the city's fall ballot asking whether to let the city borrow millions to build stuff. This one would specifically help build out the National Western Center, which will be home to the National Western Stock Show.
The proposal has mobilized people who support the idea and people who oppose it, enough that more than $500,000 has been raised to try and convince people how to vote on it -- mostly by groups supporting the idea.
There are three political committees raising money for the bond measure. Two are specific to 2E: Friends of the National Western Stock Show, which supports the measure, and Vote No on the Arena Bond, which - well, it's right there in the name. The third political committee, RISE Denver, collectively supports all five bond measures on the ballot, including 2E.
The most recent finance document filings show the money has started pouring in: Friends has raised $510,000 since it filed its first campaign report in August, while Vote No raised $725, though it filed its first report last month.
Friends, the group supporting the arena measure, has gotten money from some heavy hitters.
They include businessman and former Molson Coors Brewing Company CEO Pete Coors ($50,000 donation), Colorado Rockies owner Richard Monfort ($5,000) and National Western Stock Show President and CEO Paul Andrews ($1,000). Coors sits on the National Western Stock Show Board of Directors, as Chairman of the Capital Campaign.
Its top donor is former National Western Stock Show Board of Directors chairman Ron Williams, who gave a $100,000 donation in August. He declined to comment on his donation when reached by phone on Tuesday.
Williams gave more than 300 times the amount given by Vote No's top donor. Charles Fiser, an Aurora resident, gave $300 in August to the political committee opposing the new arena, though campaign manager Sarah Lake said he gave the money on behalf of a faith-based organization focusing on climate change.
"They are practically admitting they are building just for the sake of building - whatever jobs that may generate - without talking about who is making money on this, much less the [disservice] to the community," said Marie Venner, who supports Vote No's campaign and was involved in the organization that donated the money, Colorado Interfaith Power & Light, which she said is no longer active.
Of all the issue-based campaign groups registered with Denver Elections, Friends of the National Western Stock Show has raised the most money (though, at the end of September, they'd only spent about a quarter of it). According to the most recent numbers, Friends has raised twice as much as the next-best-funded issue group, the "Denver Pandemic Fund," which is funded by the Delaware-based Guarding Against Pandemics Inc., "a group of scientific and political experts" run by a "crypto billionaire" that's bent on preventing another global health catastrophe. RISE Denver came in third place.
If we look at these groups with in-kind donations included, the Denver Pandemic Fund rises to first place in terms of resources dedicated to an issue group, making Friends of the Stock Show second and Empower Northeast Denver in third. Empower's entire in-kind support came from Westside Investment Partners, the group hoping to develop the Park Hill Golf Course, in the form of a $268,000 spend on signature-gathering.
Metropolitan State University of Denver political science professor Robert Preuhs said certain people making donations to campaigns, like the one to build a new arena, likely stand to get something out of it if it passes. It's a bit different than, say, a borrowing money to improve schools, which he said a much larger pool of people who can benefit from it.
"It has great potential to benefit, if passed, a relatively select, small group of individuals, and particularly developers and development companies that see economic growth," Preuhs said.
People supporting the new arena have suggested it will benefit people in the area by drawing other people to the region, providing jobs for locals and money for a community investment fund that can be used by the people living near the National Western Center.
Brad Buchanan, CEO of the National Western Center Authority, which oversees and operates the National Western Center facilities, said the arena will help complete the center's goal of being what he called "economic engine" for the campus and support the local community.
"2E does that, substantially and significantly, for both proposed facilities," Buchanan said, adding he believes (and the city projects) jobs and an economic boost to Denver. "The entire city wins."
There are thousands more dollars advocating for some of the other local measures.
Yes for Parks and Open Space, a group that's pushing for ballot initiative 301 to preserve the Park Hill Golf Course, raised $112,025 by the end of September and so far has the most individual contributors, 238 of which have a Denver address and 2o without.
As for the biggest donors in this election, one group has spent far more than any other or single person. Defend Colorado is a dark-money group that spent $325,000 (through September) to support issue groups Safe and Sound Denver, Let's Do Better and Enough Taxes Already. They've also spent at least $215,000 on digital ads in support of ballot measures 2F, which would repeal the city's group living ordinance, and 303, which directs the city to crack down on street homelessness. Defend Colorado, like second-place donor Guarding Against Pandemics Inc., is not based in Denver proper. Of all dollars poured into this election so far, 52.5 percent have come from groups and people without Denver addresses.
The election takes place on Nov. 2.
UPDATE: We've added in-kind donation dollars to our chart of issue-based organizations and added some extra context about that.
