A measure aimed at building a new Boys and Girls Club in Commerce City could alienate the community’s two biggest attractions and drive one completely out of town, opponents say.
The Mile High Music Festival — which drew more than 90,000 people in July at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City — may move if the city’s admissions tax proposal passes in November, said the festival’s promoter, Chuck Morris, president and chief executive of AEG Live Rocky Mountains.
Ballot Issue 2A would tack an 8 percent charge to any public ticket sales in the city, including those for Colorado Rapids soccer games and the music festival. Proceeds from the tax would fund the construction of a Boys and Girls Club building in the city.
Proponents say the community needs a larger building for youths. Land acquisition, operating and building expenses for the facility will total $7 million.
But Morris said such a tax would hurt ticket sales and possibly doom the music festival.
“This hit us like a hand grenade,” he said. “This will stop economic development in the city; it’s a misguided tax.”
The music festival, which moved to Commerce City after being turned away by Denver officials, would face another move if the tax is approved by voters, Morris said.
“I will take a second look at having the show there next year,” Morris said.
A two-day ticket to July’s show, which included free parking, cost $179. The new tax would add about $14 to that price, Morris said.
Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which owns the Rapids, is also opposed to the tax. “We think it would be a tragic move for the people of Commerce City,” said executive vice president Paul Andrews.
A ticket price increase could cut ticket sales and hurt the revenue stream coming into the city, Andrews said. The Rapids play at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and drew an average of 13,800 fans this year. An average ticket price was $17.
Both Morris and Andrews say their respective organizations are huge supporters of the Boys and Girls Club. But they balk at the idea of only one nonprofit benefiting from the tax hike.
“We don’t think it’s right for a tax initiative to go to any one charity,” Andrews said.
Commerce City has tried to build a Boys and Girls Club facility for more than 10 years but funding could not be found, said proponent Guillermo Serna.
More than 800 signatures were gathered this summer to put 2A on the ballot. Supporters realized the benefit of having a place for kids to learn and play while staying out of trouble, Serna said.
“If we can’t take care of our children, where are we as a society?” Serna said.
The current Boys and Girls Club is housed in a junior high school where there is not enough capacity for the burgeoning number of kids, Serna said. “All we are asking for is a solution to the problem.”
The lone City Council member supporting 2A is Jim Benson, who says once the $7 million has been reached, the tax will disappear. “It’s just to get us going for a couple of years before the donors begin chipping in,” Benson said.
Besides, a Mile High concert goer isn’t likely to notice an 8 percent hike in his ticket price, he adds. “Somehow I don’t think it will be a deal-breaker for him.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
