Broomfield, CO

As part of an ongoing effort by Broomfield to inspire wonder and curiosity within the community, the city has developed a creative corridor through murals, projects and more.

“In 2021, the City Council handed down a task to the arts and history division, to look at the yearly priorities they had set out. One of those priorities was to support the creative economy,” said Megan Gilby, Broomfield’s arts and history manager. “We looked at the priorities, and one of the main tasks that was part of that priority was to create a creative corridor in Broomfield. So we sat down and tried to figure out what this would look like for Broomfield, what resources do we have? What’s the vision here? And that’s where we started.”

Since the initial vision two years ago, the creative corridor known as the ARTery has blossomed into a winding trail full of public art installations connecting The Field and Broomfield Commons open spaces.

Among the art installations along the trail are a series of sidewalk murals, “Wild Water Neighbors” by Jennifer Chaparro and Camie Rigirozzi, “Pollinator Path and Bee-longing Phrases” by Katarina Vuletich and Page Brown, and “Emergence” by Ratha Sok and Jennifer Vazquez.

Newly installed on the ARTery is the Little Houses project. The houses are small elevated boxes, each containing rotating art and history exhibits. Four of the houses were installed along the first phase of the ARTery trail and one at the Broomfield Depot Museum.

The art inside the Little Houses will contain artifacts from Broomfield’s sister city of Ueda, Japan, and twin city of Broomfield, U.K. The last house near the Depot Museum will act as a little free library.

At the end of the ARTery, near the baseball fields in the Broomfield Community Park, a wooden building has also been transformed by public art.

“I’m always constantly inspired by the nature around here in Colorado, I’m just amazed by the wildflowers and how colorful everything is. I just think it’s amazing how much beauty and how much color can come from nature,” said Stacey Reynolds, one of the mural artists.

Reynolds designed and painted the mural “Broom Brightly,” a bright and colorful piece full of wildflowers.

“I want to create art that gives people positive things,” she said. “So for this mural, I thought, what if we could look like you’re standing in a field of wildflowers and I think people take inspiration by walking through the wildflowers and I wanted to bring that to a public city space with kids and everything that might not necessarily have the wildflowers all around.”

One mural was painted by Kate Fitzpatrick, and the design of the mural was voted on by the community. “The Broomfield Dragon” depicts a whimsical flying dragon surrounded by butterflies.

“We’ve all been through a lot in the last couple of years, and I really wanted to create a mural that would just feel cheerful and positive for everyone,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I’m so grateful to Broomfield, this was my first mural and it had been a longtime goal of mine,” she added. “Broomfield is really supportive of artists and this has already opened a lot of other doors for me and I really appreciate them doing that.”

Another mural, “I Spy Colorado Wildlife,” was designed and painted by Julie Kitzes and Samantha Pascavis and depicts an array of Colorado animals. The mural is designed to be interactive, and viewers can play along by trying to spot all the species on the wall.

“We are very appreciative of the community and how a lot of people were really supportive. They were fun to be around and I had a lot of fun getting to teach a lot of people on different animals they had never heard of,” Pascavis said. “And we haven’t really had a lot of murals where the community that we were doing it in was super involved in it, but this one, a lot of people were really interested in what we were doing so that was probably the most enjoyable part next to actually painting for me.”

For more information about the ARTery, visit broomfieldvoice.com/artery.

Broomfield's urban renewal authority voted this week to cut ties with Peak Entertainment after the venue didn't drive the city's economy like it had hoped.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — When the former Broomfield Event Center opened in 2006, the city expected revenues in the surrounding urban renewal areas to help pay for the bonds on construction costs in the next few years.

It took 14 years for the surrounding Wadsworth Urban Renewal Area to earn enough revenue to make a full payment on the bond. Now 16 years after the venue opened, city leaders plan to close it down in November and potentially demolish it.

“The time has come to rip the band aid off,” Broomfield City and County manager Jennifer Hoffman told the city’s Urban Renewal Authority on Tuesday before a vote to end a contract with Peak Entertainment, a joint venture of AEG and Kroenke Sports and Entertainment that operates the building now known as 1st Bank Center.

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Peak Entertainment books concerts, controls naming rights for the arena and does some maintenance. The Broomfield Urban Renewal Authority receives 25 percent of the revenue, not to exceed $325,000, but the city said that total revenue has not been met in recent years. And the city has covered between $250,000 and $1 million in expenses for the arena.

When the venue was built, it was expected to host 180 to 190 events per year, but since 2009, the most concerts the venue has hosted in a year was 33.

The venue’s outstanding debt is a major concern. The BURA took out nearly $60 million in bonds for construction of the $45 million venue in 2006. Making yearly payments on the bonds has been a challenge, as the city has had to pull in revenue from several other urban renewal area to pay the bills. In 2020, the adjacent district was able to make the payment, which the city manager said was about 12 years too late.

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“In general, governments are good at doing things that private businesses can't do themselves, you know, hey, we might need some roads, or we need law enforcement or garbage collection, or whatever communities might decide they need government to do,” said J.C. Bradbury, an economist who researches public stadium subsidies. “(Governments) are normally not as efficient as private entities at managing these types of facilities.”

“Economists have studied the economic impact of sports facilities really for well over 50 years. And the results are the same every time the limit, the impacts are very, very small. Sometimes they're negative.”

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BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Fireworks are synonymous with the Fourth of July, but a new kind of show is lighting up Colorado skies.

A handful of cities are hosting drone shows, instead of fireworks, this Fourth of July.

Thomas Dolan is the owner and operator of Brightflight Drone Shows, which is a fairly new company that organizes private drone shows. They hope to eventually produce public shows for larger audiences.

“We simulate fireworks, we put up animations, logos, names, you name it. Sky's the limit," Dolan said.

Currently, Dolan said his company has around 100 drones. They are looking to scale up to anywhere from 200 to 500 drones.

“We have fun with toys, that's what we do," Dolan said with a laugh about drones. “It gives you a view of the world that you just, you can't get.”

Dolan described the differences between drone shows and fireworks.

"I certainly don't want to sit here and say that I don't love fireworks. I love fireworks," Dolan said. “We know there are downsides to fireworks, there are risks... They are putting little missiles in the sky that blow up, and with that can come injury, fire, especially in Colorado, [that's a] huge concern. And drones offer that safe substitute.”

Dolan also said fireworks create noise pollution, along with negative impacts on the environment.

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"There are byproducts that fireworks leave, there are chemicals, smoke in itself. There's no doubt about it," said Dolan.

He said drones offer solutions to some of those concerns.

“They [drones] are controllable, they're precise, they're organized. All of our shows are built with safety in mind, and you can't necessarily do that with fireworks... Another huge benefit is sustainability. You know, our drones are clean, we leave very little impact on where we land and where we take off," Dolan said.

Dolan also said the only noise associated with drone shows would be coordinated music.

“Fireworks, it's a one-shot, you know. You launch that thing in the sky and it explodes and never comes back. You know, our drones are sustainable," Dolan continued. “We'll run these drones and these batteries thousands of times.”

However, Dolan said there are limitations to drone shows, such as the cost of purchasing the drones and the battery life.

"We're anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes, is our typical drone show," said Dolan.

Plus, weather can be problematic for a drone show, according to Dolan. Still, he hopes anyone with hesitations about seeing a drone show gives it a chance.

Click here for a full list showing where Coloradans can watch either fireworks or drone shows on the Fourth of July.

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There were over 280 gun homicides in the state last year and there have already been 10 just two weeks into this year, according to Colorado Ceasefire.

In Broomfield and in the state capitol, stricter gun laws are being introduced, but pro-gun groups say they won't pass without legal challenge.

Gun violence prevention advocates are applauding Broomfield City Council for approving several new gun laws.

"I think it's great that they are taking a step and I would say cautiously taking the step to protect the people of their community and begin to lead the way in Colorado," said Eileen McCarron, president of Colorado Ceasefire.

The laws include prohibiting open carry in public places and concealed carry in city-owned places, requiring additional signage where guns are sold, regulating ghost guns, and banning rapid fire trigger activators.

"Trigger activators turn regular guns into machine guns," McCarron said.

Two other measures were tabled until after the legislative session. One that would increase the age to buy a firearm to 21, and another that would require a 10-day waiting period and proof of training to buy one.

"Upon our country's founding many young kids, I mean 13-year-olds, were able to possess and own rifles so raising that age to 21 certainly wouldn't be under the text history and tradition of the 2nd amendment," said Taylor Rhodes, executive director with the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

The gun lobby plans to challenge the new laws in court later this year.

"We still are looking at litigation against Broomfield, but it will likely come after the legislative session is over because we could potentially combine those suits," Rhodes said.

Rhodes is waiting to learn more about a leaked draft of a bill that would ban assault weapons statewide.

The bill has not been introduced yet and is only a draft. It would reportedly ban the sale of certain classifications of guns, but not affect those who already own them.

"This would make Colorado the most restrictive place in America to buy a firearm," Rhodes said.

As the legislative session begins, the debate over Colorado's guns continues.

"Gun control is not working at all," Rhodes said.

"We need to end the scourge of what guns are creating in our communities," McCarron said.

Olivia Young

Olivia Young is a reporter at CBS News Colorado. Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email.

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New Broomfield facility in the Baseline Innovation District to manufacture the Lightship L1 aerodynamic, solar and battery-powered travel trailer

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lightship, America’s first all-electric RV company, today announced it signed a lease agreement on a 32,000 square-foot facility in Broomfield, Colorado. The space will house the company’s pilot manufacturing operations for the Lightship L1, an aerodynamic, solar and battery-powered travel trailer, to meet high demand following its launch in March.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230531005197/en/

Lightship, America’s first all-electric RV company, today announced it signed a lease agreement on a 32,000 square-foot facility in Broomfield, Colorado. The space will house the company’s pilot manufacturing operations for the Lightship L1, an aerodynamic, solar and battery-powered travel trailer, to meet high demand following its launch in March. (Photo: Business Wire)

The newly constructed building developed by McWhinney is located within the Baseline Innovation District, and Lightship is expected to move in and begin operations in 2024. The company projects it will add dozens of jobs in high-tech manufacturing and clean technology as it ramps up production.

"This is a big milestone for Lightship and a steppingstone to ultimately producing thousands of vehicles in the future and helping to introduce electrification to a pastime enjoyed by millions of American families," said Toby Kraus, Lightship Co-Founder and CEO. "I grew up in Colorado and am thrilled for Lightship to set up its first production facility and contribute to the growing ecosystem of climate tech and hardware manufacturing in my home state."

Broomfield is an up-and-coming innovation hub with access to a strong labor pool in Denver, Boulder and surrounding areas. The new site will expand Lightship’s Colorado and California operations and represents a key indicator of the company’s projected growth as it ramps up large-scale production.

More information about the Lightship L1 is available here: .

Founded in 2020, Lightship is America’s first all-electric RV company on a mission to reimagine the recreational vehicle experience by designing and producing aerodynamic, battery-powered trailers for the electric age. As the macro transition to an all-electric transportation ecosystem accelerates, Lightship is building a critical element to enable the electrification of pickup trucks and SUVs, while bringing the increased convenience and superior performance that electrification offers to a pastime enjoyed by 1 in 10 American families. Based in San Francisco and Colorado, Lightship sells its products direct to U.S. consumers on the company’s website:

Baseline in Broomfield is a new 1,100-acre master-planned community developed by , a Colorado-based real estate investment and development firm. Designed to be a new economic center that completes the Denver/Boulder triangle, Baseline is anticipated to include residential, dining, retail, office, industrial and medical services, alongside miles of trails and biking paths. Baseline will blend urban life and outdoor adventure with more than 172 acres of open space and interconnected parks, making it unlike any other mixed-use community in the region. At full build out, Baseline is anticipated to include 9,205 homes including single family detached, townhomes, paired homes, condos, apartment homes, and build-for-rent homes. Baseline is Colorado’s first Pollinator Districtand plans to offer a mix of unique retail and dining, biking and walking paths, and a new K–12 STEM school. The Butterfly Pavilion intends to relocate to a new facility in the community in the future. Additionally, Baseline is planned to include significant office, industrial and retail space. For more information, visit .