Ushers, stagehands and a theater campus: $55 million in Arts & Venues spending moves through Council this week

If you've been scanned in at Red Rocks or shown to a seat at the Buell Theatre, the people doing that work are paid through a city contract. This week, the Council's committees and the mayor's office take up three large spending items for Denver Arts & Venues, the city agency that runs Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Denver Coliseum and the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

Together they total more than $55 million. The city's requests list Arts & Venues funds or operating funds as the money source, and the budget supplement's request says the General Fund is not affected. Why residents should care: these are public venues, and the Council has to approve contracts and budget changes this large.

The three items

1. Event staffing: $23 million more for Argus. Resolution 26-1514 would add $23 million to the city's contract with Argus Event Staffing, for a new total of $83 million, and extend it two years to Feb. 28, 2029 (Legistar). The city's request says the contract covers more than 1,200 jobs, including ticket takers, ushers, cashiers and event directors, at Red Rocks, the Coliseum and the arts complex. It says Argus was chosen through a competitive process and carries a 7% goal for minority- and women-owned business participation. The Parks, Art and Culture Committee approved it by consent on Oct. 20, and it is on the Mayor-Council agenda Oct. 27 (agenda).

2. A $7.67 million budget supplement. Council Bill 26-1611 would add $7,670,500 to this year's spending authority in the Arts & Venues special revenue fund (Legistar). The Department of Finance's request says higher prevailing wage rates and strong event activity pushed up costs for cleaning, stagehands, shuttles and event security. It says event revenue covers the increase and the General Fund is not affected. It is before the Finance and Business Committee on Oct. 27 (agenda).

3. $25 million for arts complex construction. Resolution 26-1575 would hire FCI Constructors for up to $25 million over three years to handle construction across the Denver Performing Arts Complex in District 10 (Legistar). Work would be assigned project by project. The request lists restaurant and theater renovations, lighting and wayfinding, restroom upgrades, deferred maintenance and paving, paid from the Arts & Venues capital fund, with a 13% goal for minority- and women-owned firms. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee takes it up Oct. 28 (agenda).

Also on today's Mayor-Council agenda: a $550,000 contract for an original artwork for the lobby of the Theatre at Loretto Heights in District 2, 26-1515.

What our records add

Argus has worked Denver's venues for two decades. City records show Council approvals of Argus contracts going back to 2005. The current agreement, 24-0293, started at $60 million when the Council adopted it on April 1, 2024, as part of a block vote of 12-0, with Chris Hinds absent (roll call, Legistar). The 2017 version was a three-year, $20 million deal, and a 2023 amendment brought the previous contract to $46 million.

This is a pattern of growth, not a new vendor. The new request is the first amendment to the 2024 contract. It would raise the contract's ceiling by more than a third and extend it two years past its current end date of Feb. 28, 2027.

The cost pressures match what's in the supplement. The finance department's request for 26-1611 lists stagehand support and event security among the rising costs. Event staffing is the work Argus is paid for.

What's next

• Oct. 27: Mayor-Council reviews the Argus amendment and the Loretto Heights artwork. Finance and Business hears the supplemental appropriation.
• Oct. 28: Transportation and Infrastructure hears the FCI contract.
• Then the full Council. Resolutions can be adopted in one vote. The supplemental is a bill, so it needs two readings. Any member can call an item out for a separate vote. Check the meetings page for dates.