By Jon Murray | The Denver Post
Nearly a year after a bidding scandal brought advance work for Denver’s $233 million convention center expansion to a screeching halt, the project remains far from actual construction.
Investigators have probed alleged corruption — centered on possible favoritism by the previous project management firm toward one bidder on the project — but the inquiry has produced only crickets so far, at least publicly. Lately, Denver city officials have made progress toward restarting work after they took the contracting process back to square one. But uncertainty still clouds the timeline for completion of the Colorado Convention Center’s rooftop expansion.
Once it opens, the additional large conventions the expansion is expected to attract will deliver a nearly $50 million economic boost to the local economy from new tourist and business spending, according to a 2014 feasibility study.