Selling the naming rights to the 48-year-old venue could raise $15 million of that total
By John Wenzel | Aug 31, 2026
The Colorado Symphony will spend $120 million to renovate its nearly 50-year-old Boettcher Concert Hall, following approval from Denver City Council on a naming-rights deal that could raise $15 million of that total.
The naming rights revenue will shore up the overall budget for a project that’s slated to include upgraded acoustics, a new education center and improvements to the lobby, restrooms and other parts of the building, according to the nonprofit symphony.
After the City Council approved it last week, the symphony will pursue separate naming rights for the building’s external façade at the Denver Performing Arts Complex downtown, “along with additional naming opportunities, i.e., for the stage, seating, lobby, education center, and other interior spaces,” officials wrote.
“It’s going to be a massive undertaking,” Daniel Wachter, CEO of the Colorado Symphony told The Denver Post. “This cornerstone contribution is an important starting point, and the discussions we’ve had with Denver Arts & Venues and City Council were very, very honest and encouraging. But at the end you need to have the votes.”
The Boettcher Concert Hall name, protected permanently under a previous City Council resolution, will continue to represent the interior concert hall itself “and remain prominently displayed inside the building at all times,”officials said.
“The Boettcher Foundation earned those naming rights forever because it honors their legacy of going back to the 1970s and getting the hall built,” Wachter said of the Denver-based foundation. That organization last year handed out about $8 million to various projects and groups, according to its 2025 report.
Construction is expected to begin in June 2028 and finish in fall 2029, with funding also coming in part from the $950 million Vibrant Denver Bond that voters passed on Nov. 4, 2025. The bond allocates $20 million for the project, which, along with naming rights, only covers the first $35 million.