Denver, CO
How Denver’s Ballpark District now has ties to Chicago’s Wrigleyville
DENVER — A new Rockies season is on deck, with the team’s first game of the 2026 campaign set for Friday night in Miami. The home opener is next Friday at Coors Field.
It’s also a new season for the Ballpark neighborhood’s General Improvement District (GID) and its street ambassadors.
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Those ambassadors, dressed in maroon shirts and jackets, patrol the streets around Coors Field and the Ballpark neighborhood. They are tasked with helping with cleaning, maintenance, security, outreach to those experiencing homelessness, and general hospitality for neighbors and visitors.
How Denver’s Ballpark District now has ties to Chicago’s Wrigleyville
This week, Denver7 spoke with Kate McKenna, who stepped in as the GID’s executive director last summer. McKenna said while she works in the office, the district has six full-time ambassador employees through programming partner block by block. She said the team patrols the area year-round, but adds staffing for big events like St. Patrick’s Day and Rockies home games.
McKenna comes to Denver from a similar role in Wrigleyville, the iconic neighborhood outside Wrigley Field in Chicago. She said that serves as a source of inspiration for the future, but adds that Denver’s ballpark neighborhood has its own unique advantages.
“All of our businesses are independently-owned and operated,” McKenna told Denver7. “There is no chain, there is no commercial sort of large entity here in Ballpark that you’re going to see… To have a true small, hyper-local-owned economy is what really sets this district apart, both in Denver and then nationwide.”
Even after the Rockies set a franchise record with 119 losses in 2025, McKenna said the on-field product does not make the District’s job harder.
“I like to think win or lose, they’re the best neighbor you could possibly have, regardless of their season,” McKenna said. “They continually have one of the highest attendance rates for home games, as well as walk-up ticket sales.
McKenna said there continues to be good conversations between the district and local businesses. Property owners pay a fee based on property value that goes into the GID’s annual budget.
“Folks are coming out. Folks are patronizing local businesses. They’re bringing their families down here, and they’re enjoying their time, which is all you can really ask for in terms of community… Bringing people together is at the core of what we’re doing here.”
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A Frontier Airlines plane has hit and killed a person at Denver’s international airport, prompting the evacuation of passengers. Authorities say the man jumped a perimeter fence and ran in front of the plane as it was taking off to Los Angeles.
Published On 10 May 2026
Denver, CO
Pedestrian fatally hit by Frontier airplane departing Denver for Los Angeles, flight canceled after
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Updated:
DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” the airport’s official X account wrote.
Neither the airport nor the airline has disclosed the pedestrian’s condition.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that and “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted.
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