DENVER — In 2023, Denver welcomed a record-setting 37.4 million domestic visitors, which was a 3% increase over the previous record set in 2022, according to a report released by Visit Denver.

The report also says the record number of visitors in the city generated $10.3 billion in tourism revenue, which was the most money spent in Denver than ever before.

“We’re thrilled that both the number of tourists and the revenue generated from those tourists hit record breaking numbers,” said Taylor Shields, the director of communications and public relations for Visit Denver.

On a warm, sunny day in downtown Denver, it’s likely you’ll bump into a touring group, like the one John Mayr was leading Tuesday morning.

“We start out at the Capitol and we end at Union Station,” he said.

Mayr told Denver7 he wasn’t surprised to hear Denver tourism hit a new record with all the city has to offer.

“Denver’s a sports town. It’s a town for the arts. It’s a town with a very rich history, has so much to offer to so many people around the world,” said Mayr.

It’s all of those things that brought Lothar Jaeger and his friends to make a stop in Denver all the way from Germany.

“We landed in Boston, and then we came from Boston to Cape Cod, Pennsylvania, Vancouver,” Jaeger said. “We visited Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, and then we came down to Denver.”

He told Denver7 he and his group first started planning their U.S. trip in the fall of 2023. He said they wanted to make sure to stop in Denver for a few days because they’d heard great reviews.

“We heard a lot about it, it should be very interesting to watch, and so much other stuff is going on,” he said. “Then we go to the tour here and learn about the history and everything else which is out there in the city.”

Though visitors aren’t only coming from other countries, some are visiting from much closer.

“We came from Las Vegas. We got in yesterday,” said Rick Beavin, “Yesterday evening we went to Union Station, checked it out, and we went walking around north of there to the creek.”

Beavin and his daughter aren’t among the few visiting top spots, like Union Station.

The report says the following are top visited attractions when it comes to shopping and entertainment:

– Cherry Creek area
– 16th Street Mall
– Lower Downtown Historic Area
– Denver Pavilions
– Colorado Mills Mall

After months of work being done on the 16th Street Mall Andrew Iltis, the vice president of planning community impact with the Downtown Denver Partnership, says they’re hoping that only continues boosting tourism more and more.

“We’re really seeing tourism pick up, especially in the summertime when we have, you know, kids out of school,” he said. “We have people looking for places to visit, people coming to visit the mountains, and they’re making a stop in downtown and checking out what we have to offer, like this new block on 16th Street.”

Iltis says his hope is tourists continue visiting Denver, especially this year.

The tourists Denver7 spoke with Tuesday said they’d had an unforgettable time, so far.

“It just feels like it’s welcoming to come out, everybody’s friendly,” Beavin said.

Last offseason, the Denver Broncos spent quite a bit in free agency. This offseason, the Broncos have been frugal, primarily because of the cash owed to Russell Wilson, who was released before the start of the new league year.

Like any team, the Broncos want to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to veterans, whether they’re players they drafted and then extended or free agents who played for other teams.

In which veterans are the Broncos getting good value, relative to what they’re paid? And in which veterans are the Broncos not getting enough?

I’m going to first examine the three worst-value contracts the Broncos have, based on Over The Cap‘s player valuation for 2023 compared to the salary are set to make.

Keep in mind that a player who doesn’t have a good contract value doesn’t mean he’s bad. It simply means the Broncos didn’t get enough out of the player

relative to what he is expected to make.

2023 OTC valuation: $8.3M

2024 salary: $15M

McGlinchey represented the biggest investment the Broncos made in free agency in 2023. He signed a five-year, $87.5M contract that effectively tied him to the Broncos for three seasons.

McGlinchey’s first season with the team was a mixed bag. While he was a good run blocker, he struggled with pass protection. While some of it could be blamed on quarterback play, plenty of it was his responsibility.

McGlinchey needs to clean up his pass protection issues to justify the investment the Broncos made in him. While improved QB play will help, McGlinchey needs improvement himself.

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2023 OTC valuation: $3.4M

2024 salary: $10M

Jones signed a three-year, $30M contract with the Broncos back in 2022 and played well, though he was solid overall. Still, he might have received more money than expected for a defensive lineman whose strength is in run blocking.

In 2023, Jones didn’t play as well as he did a year earlier. I had thought the Broncos might cut him to save some cash and cap, but the Broncos decided to keep him.

It’s not a given that the Broncos will move on from Jones after training camp, so as he enters the final year of his deal, it would be good to see him bounce back.

2023 OTC valuation: $5.9M

2024 salary: $12M

Powers was another notable free agent signing in 2023. He received $27M fully guaranteed in the four-year, $52M contract he received.

Powers had his ups and downs in the 2023 season. He needs to show more consistency, week to week, to justify the commitment the Broncos made to him.

To be fair, the contract Powers signed didn’t put him in the top tier and looks great when compared to deals handed out to free-agent guards this offseason. But it would be good to see Powers improve and give the Broncos better value out of his contract.

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West entrances and roads in Denver’s City Park are closed this week for repaving, city officials said in a news release Monday.

The west entrances and roads off of East 23rd Avenue, York Street and East 17th Avenue will be closed for repaving until July 23.

East entrances off of East 23rd Avenue and Colorado Boulevard will remain open, according to a map of the construction work.

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