Denver residents will vote on a $450 million bond package in November after the City Council approved the ballot measures Monday, despite significant backlash around funding the National Western Center Arena.

If passed by voters, the bond package backed by Mayor Michael Hancock would fund more than 80 infrastructure projects as part of the city’s COVID-19 recovery plan. The most expensive project on the list is the $160-million National Western Center Arena.

On Monday, the council voted 9-4 to approve the ballot measure for the arena, with council members Robin Kniech, Candi CdeBaca, Paul Kashmann and Amanda Sandoval voting no.

“I’m sad to be voting no tonight. I believe these are necessary facilities and perhaps if we had started a collaborative conversation as soon as this idea came forward, perhaps we wouldn’t be here,” said Kniech, arguing the city should consider other funding sources for the arena. “I cannot be sure that we ruled out every opportunity and option yet.”

The National Western Center Arena would be a 10,000-seat, mid-sized venue for year-round events like concerts, sporting events and expos, in addition to the annual National Western Stock Show. The arena was first envisioned in the 2015 National Western Center Campus Master Plan.

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To date, approximately $765 million has been spent on the National Western Center Campus from a combination of funding sources, city officials said.

The arena was originally meant to be funded by a tourism tax, which has taken a significant hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, the arena would cost $210 million to construct, with the remaining $50 million coming from other sources, city officials said.

The funding of the arena has received substantial backlash since the bond package was first announced, with many saying the funds would be better spent elsewhere. The arena would receive over 35% of the bond package and cost more than the eight next most expensive projects combined.

“An arena is not what the Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods need,” said Alfonso Espino, spokesperson for Globeville Elyria Swansea Coalition, which represents the neighborhoods where the arena would be located.

“The development of this area will further dispossess our community of its land and homes, and continue a legacy of exploitative development that fails to provide services that our community actually needs, like affordable housing or economic opportunities.”

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Numerous residents from the neighborhoods have spoken against the arena at council meetings in recent weeks. On Monday evening, the coalition also held a press conference protesting the arena before the council meeting.

However, supporters of the arena argue it would be the largest economic stimulant in the bond package. The city estimates the construction would result in approximately 3,000 jobs with an average salary of $30 per hour. That would total $194 million in worker wages by the time construction concluded.

While no residents from the Globeville or Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods have spoken in support of the arena at council meetings, officials say the city at-large has more mixed feelings.

“We performed some outreach on our own and District 10 residents are split on strong support and opposition to the National Western funding,” said Councilman Chris Hinds. “That suggests to me that this is an ideal question for voters to weigh in on in November.”

The package will be divided into five separate ballot measures: city facility projects, transportation projects, Parks and Recreation projects, housing projects and the combined arena construction and $30-million Historic 1909 Building renovation.

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If passed, the measures would allocate $104 million for Denver facilities, $63.3 million for transportation, $38.6 million for housing and sheltering and $54 million for parks and recreation.

The other four ballot measures passed the council in 12-1 votes with only CdeBaca voting no.

“Given our crisis with COVID-19 and the economic downturn, our revenue shortfalls from last year and our need to recoup those revenue shortfalls by increasing taxes or floating the levy, I think it’s not a wise decision to add more debt to the taxpayers,” CdeBaca said.

The bond package would be a general obligation bond, a type of municipal bond backed entirely by a city’s creditworthiness and paid back over decades using property taxes.

Opponents of the $450 million bond package have also questioned its necessity since Denver passed its largest-ever bond package in 2017, providing $937 million to improve the city’s infrastructure. Of that funding, $375 million is still available to be spent, according to city documents.

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The city estimates the new bond package would create 7,580 jobs and $1 billion in economic output.

The most expensive projects on the bond list are the following:

• National Western Center Arena construction – $160 million
• Historic 1909 Building renovation – $30 million
• May Bonfils Stanton Theater at Loretto Heights renovation – $30 million
• Homeless shelter facility acquisition, conversion and/or construction – $30 million
• Park maintenance and facilities construction in Districts 1 and 11 – $15.8 million
• Americans with Disabilities Act improvements in city facilities – $14.23 million
• Westwood Branch Library construction – $13.88 million
• Morrison Road reconstruction – $13 million
• Citywide transportation safety and pedestrian improvements – $13 million

If approved by voters in November, the first debt issuance for the bond would be in the spring of 2022, city officials said.