Quiz time! In 2024, how many people showed up to support our metropolitan Denver professional sports teams (i.e.: the Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rockies and Rapids combined)?
A. 1.2 million
B. 4.9 million
C. 10.3 million
D. 14.7 million
In the same year, how many people showed up to support our metropolitan Denver arts, culture, and science organizations and performances?
- 1.2 million
- 4.9 million
- 10.3 million
- 14.7 million
The answer to the first question is B, 4.9 million. The answer to the second is D, 14.7 million! Not what you expected? That’s the power of SCFD… and we’re not done with the surprises yet.
According to the 2024 Colorado Business Committee for the Arts’ biennial Economic Activity Study of Denver Metro Culture, all together SCFD’s 300 grantees contributed $3.12 billion to the Metro area economy in 2024. $692 million of that $3.12 billion was generated by tourists visiting the Denver metro area to attend a performance or cultural event. That’s a huge economic impact from both Coloradans living here enjoying what their neighborhood has to offer and from people traveling to our area for its world-renowned museums, theaters, festivals, and more.
“Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) has produced the Economic Activity Study of Metro Denver Culture since 1993 using data provided by the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). With over 30 years of data, we have clear evidence of the economic and social impacts of nonprofit arts, cultural and scientific organizations and the positive longitudinal trends that result from SCFD funding. This creates jobs, access for all, and pumps billions into our regional economy,” said Christin Crampton Day, executive director of CBCA.
We know SCFD is more than the numbers. These data are just the gateway to the stories behind the SCFD, representing people who access incredible experiences. For example, let’s focus on Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. This museum was formed after the historic Lowry Air Force Base closed in 1994 by a group of volunteers. Since then, it has grown to encompass two locations in Arapahoe and Denver counties, welcoming more than 150,000 visitors each year from Colorado and beyond. Through its exhibitions and educational programming, the museum exposes visitors to aircraft of all kinds, the science behind aviation, and makes flight knowledge and history more accessible to all. It also routinely partners with local cultural and arts groups to combine science and learning with art and community.
“We use incredible aircraft, spacecraft, stories and hands-on experiences to help people explore where we’ve been, understand where we are today, and imagine what’s possible in the future. Wings partners with organizations across the cultural, education and aerospace communities to share ideas, expertise and audiences. There are so many connections between aviation, science, history, art and culture, and collaboration allows us to create experiences that reach people in new way,” said Chief Marketing Officer of Wings Over the Rockies, Jason Roberts.
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum isn’t the only SCFD funded partner hosting unique collaborative programming. Butterfly Pavilion and the Colorado Ballet have paired up to provide educational programming about invertebrates and the ways they move through ballet, Phamaly Theatre Company puts on a holiday-themed cabaret with the Colorado Symphony, and the Mexican Cultural Center collaborates with organizations from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art on Dia del Niño every April.
These collaborations are not only innovative and exciting, but they also point back to those economic impact numbers from above. Many cultural organizations thrive when they come together. The support of district residents has provided our partners the space to cross-pollinate, to dream bigger, and to connect the dots between arts, culture, and science to bring our community together. The result? Excellent cultural experiences, more economic activity, jobs at nonprofits for district residents, and more opportunities to come together.
By supporting the SCFD, you helped to make these experiences possible. Unique partnerships. A thriving cultural economy. Free days. Some of the best arts, science, and cultural organizations in the country. All right here in our metropolitan area. That’s part of what you are helping fund through SCFD tax dollars at work.
Reap the benefits of a connected cultural community by attending a free day near you:
- Nov. 8 – Phamaly Theatre Company’s Pericles: An Adaptive Show for People with Cognitive Disabilities at Lone Tree Arts Center
- Nov. 11 and Nov. 14 – Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance Free Days
- Nov. 14 – Thornton Community Band’s Fall Recital
- Nov. 15 – Dinosaur Ridge Free Day
- Nov. 18 – Museum of Outdoor Arts Free Day
- Nov. 19 – Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum Free Day
- Nov. 20 – Four Mile Historic Park Free Day
- Nov. 27 – Denver Botanic Gardens Free Day at York Street and Chatfield Farms
- Dec. 3 – Molly Brown House Museum Free Evening
- Dec. 8 – Denver Art Museum Free Day