By Jenna Barackman | August 25, 2026
The Denver City Council has cleared the way for the Colorado Symphony to sell naming rights to Boettcher Concert Hall and dozens of spaces within it, a move expected to unlock the final piece of funding to pay for a $122 million overhaul of the nearly 50-year-old venue.
The council approved an agreement Monday giving permission to the Colorado Symphony Association to sell the naming rights after the proposal garnered unanimous support from the council’s Parks, Art and Culture committee earlier this month.
An estimated $15 million is expected to be raised from selling the naming rights to places like the building itself, libraries, staircases, the box office, seating sections and other areas inside the music venue hall. The $15 million will be put toward a $122 million renovation of the hall, which would include a new education center, HVAC modernizations, decreasing overall seating in the hall to add accessible seats and other improvements, the symphony said.
The Boettcher Foundation has approved selling the naming rights for the spaces. The internal concert hall will be preserved as “Boettcher Concert Hall” in perpetuity, but the rights agreement allows the exterior building name to be sold. The renovation will be the concert hall’s first major refresh in decades; it did undergo more minor upgrades in 1993. The Symphony is required to contribute its funding to the project, at least $15 million, by Feb. 1, 2029, under the agreement. If the organization raises more than $15 million, it will put the additional funds toward the renovation, it said. The naming rights money would add to the $20 million the renovation project received in Vibrant Denver bonds, $16.8 million previously appropriated by the city, $5.3 million from a 2024 Facilities Development Admission tax appropriation and about $64.9 million from Denver Arts & Venues capital funds. If the money is raised, construction is set to start in the summer of 2028 and finish in late August 2029. While the hall is under construction, the symphony will perform at other venues in the Mile High City and across the state, it said.
The Colorado Symphony is expected to start selling naming rights late this year. The rights will only be sold to families or individuals, including philanthropic donors, the symphony said, and will bar anyone involved in the tobacco, liquor, adult or marijuana industries. The naming rights being sold will last for a maximum of 25 years, the CSA said.