RMGA Membership Meeting Review 


​Cherry Creek Shopping Center – 801 Chop House


More than forty of the membership gathered at 801 Chop House for what has become an annual event for RMGA – presentations from the major tourism venues in Denver with information for the 2018 tourism season.  801 Chop House and CCSC provided beverages and passed hors d’oeuvres.  RMGA contributed $200 toward parking and the cost of the food.  Parking was comp’d.  All attendees received updated rack cards on many of the venues and bus schedules to CCSC.

President Mike Pearl presided over a short business meeting – reminding all to sign up for as a volunteer and as a paid guide, etc.  And also to learn about IPW, coming to Denver May 18-23, 2018 so that we are prepared to participate.  IPW will have over 6,500 attendees, including over 3,000 tour operators – who book over 80% of all tours. 

CCSC’s Pat Lee is sponsoring several lunches for more than 60 people on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20.  Pat also reminded us that these tour operators may arrive as a group on their own motorcoach, which will limit the number of tours/M&Gs, etc. that RMGA members might be able to work at.  Pat is expecting 525 for a party at CCSC on May 2nd – also a tourism promotion. 

The membership also were notified of May’s membership meeting at the Coalition for the Homeless and a teaser for the holiday event.  Education Chair, Mike Dulude mentioned a possible additional FAM for the Gaylord Rockies.  Mike Pearl also asked all the membership to submit a short bio for inclusion in the monthly newsletter so that we can all get to know one another better. 

Program committee member, Nancy Brueggeman, introduced Pat Lee, Tourism Marketing Specialist at CCSC who then introduced all the presenters. 

CCSC  - Andrea Zedicker, Marketing and Sponsorship Director:

There are now barricades – around east side – new construction
New stores coming:

  • Zara – Spanish RTW store opening in November 2018.
  • Casper mattresses
  • Eyeglass store
  • Amazon pop-up
  • Alex and Onyx
  • Lolli
  • Omega

Safeway Building:

Macy’s Home store will move into the old Safeway building.  So will the Container Store. And a restaurant

2019 will see the remodel of the AMC theaters


Recurring events:

  • Fresh market will be open from May 5- through October - Wednesdays and Saturdays
  • Arts Festival – July 6-8
  • August – croquet tournament which benefits the Chamber of Commerce
  • Elway’s will continue the Wednesday evening concert series – June through August
  • Tree lighting in the plaza – more than 1,500 people attended 2017’s
  • After hours on a Sunday during the holiday season – pet photos with Santa


Guest relations desk closed – now digital or flip version (passport to shopping)
International travelers can use the free Internet and QR code on passport and download the passport information

The valet entrance on the north side between Neiman Marcus and Restoration Hardware

Coach dropoff location
Gray Line pickups

801 Chop House – Lindsay Anderson, General Manager

Lindsay gave us a short overview of 801 Chop House

Also have restaurants in Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City
They offer complimentary valet parking
4-6:30 – happy hour

New restaurant coming in August/September 2018 -- At 2nd and Fillmore – 801 Fish – will focus on fish rather than beef

Denver Botanic Gardens – Erin Bird, Communications Manager

Things are starting to bloom
Artist featured this season will be Mike Whiting.  His sculptures will be on display from April 28 through September 23rd
Thirteen pieces will be at the Botanic Gardens.  Minimalist sculpture

The Hive – a new outdoor garden café will open April 10th
New Newman Center will open May 13th – at the back of the Tropical Center

It will have stadium style seating, library, classrooms

Denver Art Museum – Heidi Weisman, Associate director of Events and Group Services

The North Building will be remodeled and open by December 2019

Most of the permanent collection is currently in storage

Degas exhibit now open – will be at the DAM until May 20, 2018

Average cost for this timed ticket is $28/person

General Admission is $10
Senior $8
Group rates are available, please call

Coming exhibits:

  • Landscape and photography exhibit
  • Rembrandt – opening September 18th
  • Dior – holiday exhibit – over 150 dresses


Final Friday at the DAM – generally a theme party -


Denver Museum of Nature and Science – Maura O’Neal, Communications and Media Relations Manager

Current exhibits:

Creatures of Light – creatures that create their own light

  • Lightning bugs
  • Dead Sea Scrolls – now until September 3rd -- More than 600 artifacts – rotate in June due to the possibility of light and humidity damage; These scrolls exhibited here have never been on public display before; This exhibit has an additional cost above general admission
  • Jerusalem – in the IMAX 3-D theater; February 16 – September 3, 2018; National Geographic film
  • Pandas and musical history are also on exhibit


Cherry Creek North – Jenny Starkey

More than 300 stores in 16 blocks:
70% of the retailers are local

Very walkable
RTD provides busses in CCN
Currently 750 hotel rooms, another new hotel opening in August with an additional 500 rooms
There are ten new projects under construction in CCN and CCSC
CC Arts District – 12

Check the website for tours, private tours


CC Arts Festival is in CCN (annual exhibit for more than 30 years); Tenth anniversary on August 11th – food and wine
Small business Saturdays – discount cards are good in 200 stores


Parking

  • Over 5,000 parking spaces, only 500 on street (these have 3 hours limits)
  • Parking after 5 pm and on weekends is a flat rate of $5
  • New projects will add more than 2,000 spaces in 2019
  • Lots of visitors use Lyft and Uber, and don’t use a parking spot


Business improvement district

No homeless people in CCN – No direct transit; Urban camping ban in effect


CCN does not participate in First Friday Art Walk

New Construction

Height restrictions

2012 zoning changes changed height restrictions – depending on the street; Range from 3 stories on 3rd Avenue to 12 stories

Whole Foods – bought by Amazon, will change in 2019

Denver Center for the Performing Arts – Julie Rada

DCPA offers many Broadway hits – Hamilton was just here, Aladdin currently here

Coming hits:

  • Frozen
  • School of Rock
  • Book of Mormon
  • The Who’s Tommy – in rehearsal


The theater had 1.2 million visitors in 2017
It’s an incubator for new works
Offers Behind the Scenes Tours

Tours are free if you are a Public Library member

Also offer off-site performance tour

Walking tour – L’Alma
Public tours are Mon-Sat at 10 am

20-22 people
Looking for docents

Private tours – 10-4 – Monday – through Saturday

The theater company presents 8 shows/year

It’s the largest regional theater company in the US

Visit Denver– Jenna VanOort

Group tours from all over the US and Canada

They refer RMGA
New blog – does a weekend recap


There are four tourist information centers

  • DIA
  • Union Station (busiest)
  • Convention Center
  • 1575 California


IPW will be here in 40 days
Information behind the Blue Bear in the Convention Center
2,000 travel people and media from 70 countries
May 17th – arrivals
May 24th - departure

Training programs: April 24, April 26 and May 1

Gray Line Colorado – Ilene Kamsler

Offer sightseeing and tours
Gray Line will no longer shuttle sightseeing tour patrons from their hotel to CCSC

Patrons will need to provide their own transportation from their hotel to CCSC to pick up Gray Line
The Colorado Springs / Garden of the Gods / Air Force Academy / Pikes Peak tour will change

Anschutz owns the cog railway, needs repair, may be out of commission for two years
Anschutz also owns the Broadmoor
Gray Line will provide a shuttle to Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs depot

The Pikes Peak tour will be about 4 hours and will run throughout the day

Bustang – Gray Line will not coordinate tours with Bustang to ride the shuttle to Pikes Peak
The Pikes Peak Highway tours expect to start on May 1, 2018

B-Cycle – Sue Baldwin

RED bikes – have 89 stations
Run north to RiNo – 29th and Brighton

$35 for 24 hours – can take bike overnight – launched in 2017

$9 for a day in 30 minute intervals
All bikes have locks
They have 24 hour customer service
Available at the kiosk or on the website
The last Monday of each month is free – buy at the kiosk
Offer tours to up to 25 people
Union Station kiosk is one of their largest

RTD – Bruce Abel, Assistant General Manager, Bus Operations Department

Bruce Abel is retiring (he has been at this event almost every year for 9 years)


A Line celebrates their second anniversary; Carries over 20,000 people/day


Fare – a day pass is good on any RTD service

G Line under construction from Union Station to Arvada and Wheatridge; Federal Railway Association (FRA) and the PUC have agreed to begin testing; Testing will last several months

North Metro Line under construction from Union Station to 124th; Expected to be completed late 2019 or early 2020

IPW – 83L to Cherry Creek – goes to Parker Road past Civic Center Plaza and the Capitol; Every 15 minutes; Drops off at 1st and Fillmore in CC

Bustang – commuter service to Fort Collins and Colorado Springs

Will expand hours of service due to demand

Light rail – ridership has changed – now more passengers go to Union Station than Convention Center
The Cultural Connection Trolley used to connect CCSC with downtown
Ace Express – not part of RTD – is part of DOT, seniors (65+)
B Line – needs an agreement with BNSF before it is operational
Question for Bruce – would RTD consider opening the ticket window (lower level Union Station) on Saturdays?

Visit Denver personnel get lots of questions about RTD and bus routes
Unable to answer – need someone on weekends to be able to give good information

DIA – Jessica Keegan –Senior Marketing Manager

Jessica’s career started at CCSC, then to RTD, now at DIA
Norwegian Air non-stop Denver – CDG in Paris initial flight today – April 9, 2018

Stacey Stegman, Senior Vice President unable to attend RMGA – on flight to CDG

New routes / non-stops:

  • DIA also has new service to Central America
  • Southwest now goes non-stop to Belize
  • Sun Country opened route to Mazatlán
  • Norwegian – also opened new flight to London Gatwick
  • United – new non-stop to London Heathrow
  • Edelweiss – will fly direct to Zurich starting June 4


DIA has 3rd largest domestic traffic in USA
61.3 million people at DIA in 2017
New construction starting to add 39 gates
Opened a 5-year building (temp) on Pena Blvd – using non-air space
Also 11 new airlines
The A Line has $2/day parking – car is in the open at a public lot
2020 will be the 25th anniversary of DIA
Great Hall change will start at the end of June

Check the website for information on the construction and possible configurations
The developer owns part of Heathrow Airport)
Security is moving to level 6 – won’t be visible from above
Ticket counter are being relocated
A new welcome are will be developed at the south end of the Terminal where passengers go down to meet the A line train

New signage is being researched – difficult for passengers to figure out how to get to the train

The North and South Security checkpoints will move

The A bridge will no longer have a security checkpoint
There will be a barrier between the secured and unsecured areas in the Great Hall on Level 5

Communications and signage are been developed to reflect these changes so that passengers do not get lost

New / remodeled restaurants at DIA

  • Smashburger on Terminal B and C
  • B Mezzanine will have Snooze and Qdoba
  • Lots of new concessions
  • Two new customer lounges


A – Plaza Premium Lounge (fee based – anyone can use)
C – Amex

On the Plaza – outside the Westin:


  • 18 hole putt-putt course
  • Ten different beers - $5
  • Canine therapy squad -- Now have their 101st animal; Also have a therapy cat



Contact Information: 

Pat Lee, Tourism Marketing Specialist
Cherry Creek Shopping Center
3000 East First Avenue
Denver CO 80206

303.388.2552 or 303.693.0550
Patlee13@aol.com
www.cherrycreekmall.com

 
Andrea Zediker, Marketing and Sponsorship Director
Cherry Creek Shopping Center
3000 East First Avenue
Denver CO 80206

303.388.2522 or 720.331.2599
azediker@taubman.com



Molly Keech, Marketing and Tourism Coordinator
Cherry Creek Shopping Center
3000 East First Avenue
Denver CO 80206

303.388.2522, ext 3319
mkeech@taubman.com
shopcherrycreek.com

 
Erin Bird, Communications Manager
Denver Botanic Gardens
909 York Street
Denver, CO  80206

720.865.3552
Erin.bird@botanicgardensorg

 
Heidi Weisman
Associate Director of Events and Group Services
Denver Art Museum
100 West 14th Avenue Parkway
Denver, CO 80204

720.913.0148
hweisman@denverartmuseum.org

 
Maura O’Neal
Communications and Media Relations Manager
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO 80205-5798

303.370.6407 or 303.507.6058
Maura.oneal@dmns.org

 
Jenny Starkey
Cherry Creek North
?

 
Julie Rada
Audience Development
Denver Center for the Performing Arts
1101 13th Street
Denver, CO 80204

303.446.4895
jrada@dcpa.org

 
Jenna VanOort
Tourism Manager
Visit Denver
1575 California Street
Denver, CO 80202-44264

303.892.1112 or 303.571.9446
jvanoort@visitdenver.com

 
Ilene Kamsler, Community Relations
Gray Line
5855 E. 56th Avenue
Commerce City, CO 80022


303.399.1867 or 303.668.4317
ilene@coloradograyline.com

 
Bruce Abel
Assistant General Manager Bus Operations Department
RTD
1600 Blake Street, BLK-41
Denver, CO 80202

303.299.2839
Bruce.abel@rtd-denver.com

 
Sue Baldwin
B-Cycle
Sue.baldwin@denverbikesharing.org

 
Jessica Keegan
Senior Marketing Manager
DIA
Airport Office Building, 9th Floor
8500 Pena Blvd.
Denver, CO 80249-6340

303.342.2259 or 720.597.5765
Jessica.keegan@flydenver.com



Written by Nancy Brueggeman CEO 

Cherry Creek Shopping Center


WHAT:  RMGA MEMBERSHIP MEETING – CHERRY CREEK SHOPPING CENTER (CCSC) 

WHEN: 
April 9, 2018, 6:00 – 6:45 pm – networking, 7:00 pm Short Meeting, 7:15 pm – 8:00 pm - program. 

WHERE: 
At 801 Chophouse Denver, CO 80206 - restaurant in CCSC - next to Restoration Hardware.   

PROGRAM:  
Pat Lee of CCSC will introduce representatives of various tourism venues to update us on what is happening in Denver for the 2018 tourism season.