Promoters of a proposed yearly music and arts festival that was expected to attract tens of thousands of people to City Park are looking for a new location after the Denver Zoo raised objections.
Anschutz Entertainment Group announced today that it was exploring alternative sites.
The promoters had been quietly meeting for the past three months with city leaders and neighborhood groups to build support for the festival at City Park.
They envisioned an event similar to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, with up to 60,000 revelers and up to 60 well-known bands on five stages during a weekend in July.
Neighborhood leaders said the promoters had gone a long way toward easing concerns they had early on. Councilwoman Carla Madison, whose district encompasses City Park, also had expressed support.
The promoters revealed today that they were looking at other locations after the zoo declined to support the proposal because of noise concerns.
The promoters said that on Tuesday, Craig Piper, the zoo’s president and chief executive, sent e-mails to AEG Live and city officials stating that he wouldn’t “endorse the proposed music festival in City Park.”
AEG officials said they had been working with the zoo since September on trying to craft a solution.
Brittany Morris, vice president of CRL Associates Inc., which had been handling lobbying on the proposal, said the promoters may have to look outside Denver for a festival location, though they still hope to hold it in the metropolitan region.
Morris is the daughter of Chuck Morris, promoter and president of AEG Live Rocky Mountain Region.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
