by Valley Gadfly | Dec 15, 2025 | Valley Gadfly
Valley Gadfly
Wipe the slate clean, it’s 2026! Time to start from scratch and make a fresh start, make a new beginning. Who knows, this January could be your lucky penny, your four-leaf clover.
It’s a chance to motivate yourself, uplift others, set new goals, and embrace exciting opportunities ahead. You don’t have to be perfect, just be yourself, and that is enough.
January is not about expecting, hoping, and wishing; it’s about doing, being, and becoming. Here are our “chasing dreams” shopping, dining, and entertainment choices:
There’s still time to see the holiday tradition Blossoms of Light®, celebrating 40 years at the Denver Botanic Gardens through January 12. The event showcases the plant collections during the winter months. Information: 720-865-3500.
Guitar virtuoso group the Stanley Jordan Trio show off their “touch technique” and music at Dazzle Denver January 9, 6:30 & 9 p.m. Information: 303-839-5100.
The symphony plays Rachmaninoff Rhapsody for piano and orchestra at Boettcher Concert Hall Jan. 9-11, 7:30 p.m., Sun. 1 p.m. Information: 720-865-4220.
Looking for BBQ with richness and flavor? Riot BBQ’s thin al pastor ribs, and brisket tacos on bison tallow tortillas feature rich, bold flavors. The laid-back atmosphere is a memorable smokehouse experience. Information: 303-872-6862.
Want to add a fun, fitness element to your life this year? Participate in Glendale Sports Center’s adult coed soccer, volleyball, men’s basketball, table tennis, and pickleball leagues. Call Kelly Legler for dates, times. Information: 303-630-4711.
Catch the music of Grammy-winning mandolinist and singer Chris Thile playing at the Newman Center January 15, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-871-7720.
Hairball brings their Rock & Roll concert with lights, sound, and smoke to the Paramount Theater January 16, 8 p.m. Information: 720-577-6884.
Montana quartet Kitchen Dwellers plays a fusion of bluegrass, folk, and rock music at the Mission Ballroom January 24, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-377-1666.
Attend this year’s Denver Animal Shelter’s strongman event, Battle in Mile High. Event is being held January 24, 8 a.m. at Prost Brewery. Shelter is raising funds to help animals in need, and every dollar counts. The Denver Animal Shelter is an adoption center and shelter for dogs and cats. Information: 720-913-1311.
Snow falls to the ground soft and white. Sometimes it falls all through the night, wintertime is here. January is a month of reflection, transition, and emotional contrast.
The truth is that January makes everyone a little bit demoralized. Whether it’s because of the cold, shorter days, or the end of the holidays, it’s tough to maintain a positive attitude.
A New Year’s Resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. What happened to the man who shoplifted a calendar on New Year’s Eve? He got 12 months.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Peter Boyles | Dec 15, 2025 | Blasting with Boyles
Blasting With Boyles
OPINION
Your Denver Broncos are owned by the Walton-Penner family ownership group. Led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband Greg Penner. Rob Walton is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and he is the wealthiest owner in the NFL. Their family purchased your Denver Broncos in 2022 for 4.65-billion dollars. They lease Empower Field but are moving ahead with plans to build a new stadium across I-25 and next door to Ball Arena.
Ball Arena is owned by Stan Kroenke, head of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. He also owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, and Mammoth, along with the LA Rams, British soccer powerhouse Arsenal, and Altitude Sports. Kroenke is married to Rob Walton’s cousin, Ann Walton Kroenke.
A modern Hapsburg empire.
You have to have a program to understand all the connections. Your Broncos plan on moving to historic Burnham Yard, aiming for a new stadium opening date in 2031, creating a 150-acre stadium empire.
This is the Colorado version of Jerry World. That’s the AT&T Stadium in Texas for their Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones is a real modern-day operator, perhaps a monarch, and has built what some of the sports writers describe as what stadiums of the future will look like.
In 2001 you built your Broncos a new football stadium. The city doesn’t own the stadium in spite of what some people want you to believe. The Stadium District does. Remember, when the promoters realized they could not get their tax swindle passed by Denver voters alone, they expanded it into the RTD District to get the yuppies in Douglas County to put the stadium over.
The current lease is up at the end of the 2030 NFL season.
You all fondly remember Mile High Stadium; it was 54 years old when the taxpayers tore that down. This one will be barely 30 years when the new stadium is designated to open.
The cost for the new Empower Field to the taxpayers was 270-million dollars. That was 75 percent of the 400-million-dollar total price tag. I read a study from the Brookings Institute on how tax-exempt bonds play out for NFL stadiums resulting in 3.2 billion dollars across all NFL stadiums.
For me to attempt to understand leasing agreements, tax deals, and sales clauses is a very baffling endeavor, but one thing I walked away with is everybody seemed to be taken care of with the exception of the taxpayers.
The Bowlen family walked away, the new owners walked away, and, of course, now the new development flag is flown.
The entire valley will be redeveloped at a staggering amount of money. Guess whose pockets that money will go into.
Some people believe when the empire made the purchase of your Denver Broncos they had all of these plans in place and were going to recoup plus any money they initially shelled out to buy the team.
They will have a new stadium, they’ll redevelop the valley, and they’ll have a Jerry World of their own.
We have had long conversations about places like Lambeau and Soldier Field and Arrowhead, the traditional stadiums of the NFL. And now the real stinkers, these guys claim that Nissan Stadium is the worst deal the taxpayers got, Raymond James.
The question is how much do you think the taxpayers will be on the hook for the new move? The infrastructure and how the development of the valley will be priced. The NFL walks America with unbelievable power. Dare there be one elected official say no, or will the threat of we will move shut them down?
2031 really isn’t that far away. What would happen in Colorado to any office holder who would put a palm forward of the juggernaut of building new stadiums and say no, not here, not now? The foisted idea that’s supported by much of the sports media is, oh they’re going to pay for this on their own. If you read how Jerry Jones and others built empires for themselves, you’ll see the taxpayer foots a lot of the bill. I know the Broncos are winning and it makes the town happy. But how many of these have we seen before. The bond daddies cheer on, the family will have its way, and the politicians, whoever is in office at the time, will be at the ribbon-cutting, and some guy on the barstool next to you will say, “We’re going to get the Super Bowl.” At this point I always go “we?” What do you got a rat in your pocket? Because I think a lot of these people have a rat in theirs.
Maybe I’ll quit writing this column and become a Walmart greeter. Happy New Year.
— Peter Boyles
by Mark Smiley | Dec 15, 2025 | Travel
Grinch Adventure, More Runs Through January 2
by Mark Smiley
Beautiful Decorations: The inside of the Gaylord Rockies features millions of twinkling lights and more than 200 decorated trees.
Gaylord Rockies: Twinkling lights drape the massive timber beams of Gaylord Rockies like a Colorado winter wonderland
A team of 40 master ice artisans from Harbin, China, arrived at Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, to transform two million pounds of ice into a breathtaking winter wonderland. The group has spent more than 12,000 hours hand-carving intricate sculptures for this year’s ICE! experience, themed around Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Hailing from Harbin — famously known as “Ice City” and home to the world’s largest ice and snow sculpting festival — the artisans have traveled more than 5,700 miles to Colorado. Since 2001, Gaylord Hotels has partnered with these highly skilled carvers to bring their centuries-old craft to life for American audiences.
Using tools such as chisels, tongs, hand saws, grinders, and chainsaws, the team begins with over 6,000 blocks of ice, each weighing about 300 pounds. Working from a 300-page design book, the artisans sculpt everything from coin-sized details to 30-foot-tall scenes inspired by Dr. Seuss’ beloved holiday tale.
Guests visiting ICE! at Gaylord Rockies will be transported through the classic story — journeying from the Grinch’s snowy mountaintop lair and his sneaky sleigh ride into Whoville, to the Whos’ joyful celebration and the Grinch’s heartwarming transformation. Brilliant colored ice, dazzling LED lights, and a precisely maintained 9-degree environment combine to create a mesmerizing display. Visitors can borrow signature blue parkas to stay cozy during the experience.
Artisans: Armed with chisels, tongs, hand saws, grinders, and chainsaws, the artisans begin with more than 6,000 blocks of ice to create ICE! at Gaylord Rockies.
The attraction also includes two-story ice slides, sparkling tunnels, and live carving demonstrations in the Carver Showcase. ICE! concludes in a serene Nativity scene, sculpted entirely from crystal-clear ice. The display runs through January 2, 2026.
While ICE! is the crown jewel of Christmas at Gaylord Rockies, the holiday spirit extends throughout the resort, which features millions of twinkling lights and more than 200 decorated trees. New this year is the Sugar Snow Station, a whimsical area featuring Candy Cane Mountain Indoor Snow Tubing, Gumdrop Gliders Ice Puck Challenge, and the Sugar N’ Spice Bar offering festive treats.
Other seasonal highlights include:
Feast with the Grinch, a family dining event where guests can meet the famously grouchy green guest of honor and his dog, Max.
Sippin’ Santa, a tropical tiki pop-up bar serving island-inspired holiday cocktails in collectible mugs.
Gingerbread Mountain Cabin, a life-sized creation built from over 1,400 pounds of gingerbread, icing, and candy.
Festival of Trees, an annual fundraiser benefiting Lantern (formerly Bright by Text), supporting early childhood development.
Guests can also enjoy festive favorites like the Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt, the Gingerbread Decorating Corner, Photos with Santa, the Elf Training Academy, Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions, and the Yuletide Street Market in Mistletoe Village.
For those looking to extend the holiday magic, overnight guests receive special perks such as “Chill Pass” front-of-line access to ICE! and entry to the resort’s indoor Arapahoe Springs Waterpark.
Tickets for ICE! and other Christmas at Gaylord Rockies attractions must be purchased in advance, as peak weekends often sell out. For details, overnight packages, or reservations, visit ChristmasAtGaylord Rockies.com
by Editorial Board | Dec 15, 2025 | Editorials
Editorial —
Two adjacent skyscraper office buildings in downtown Denver located at 621 and 633 17th Street recently sold for $3.2 million. The buildings have nearly a million square feet of office space combined. Six years ago, the buildings were valued at $200 million – a 98% drop in value.
The purchase indicates the buildings were essentially worthless as office space. With a cost basis of $3.2 million, the buyer, Los Angeles developer Asher Luzzatto, could rent office space at extremely low rates and seemingly make a great deal of profit. But no, apparently there is almost no major market for rental offices downtown at virtually any price. Instead, the buyer is going to spend tens of millions to turn the buildings into 700 residences.
This developer is not the first one in Denver to come up with this idea. It was announced recently that the historic Petroleum Building will be converted from office space into residential units. The building was given its name as it was housing a myriad of businesses in the oil and gas business. No need to worry about such use as Governor Polis and the legislature have killed the oil and gas industry in Colorado in the name of preventing global climate change.
The problem is that there is no data out there indicating that people are dying to move to downtown Denver for residential purposes. In fact, Channel 7 in Denver recently ran a story entitled “Data shows people are actively avoiding moving to Denver” citing data from a MoveBuddha study. Moreover, as our front-page story indicates that apartment rental rates in Denver are going down reflecting lowering of demand.
At one time Denver could count on an influx of monied people from California but no longer. Why move from misgoverned Los Angeles and California to misgoverned Denver and Colorado. They are heading to red states such as Texas and Idaho.
So what in the world is the developer Asher Luzzatto thinking? Back in the Chronicle’s May 2024 edition we prognosticated in an editorial titled “No Mr. Mayor, the Woes Of Downtown Denver Will Not Be Saved By A Half Billion Dollar Retrofit Boondoggle” that proposed new Downtown Denver BID assessments would end up in the pockets of downtown office owners to help convert their buildings into residential properties. Rest assured that some of the bond proceeds from the just passed “Vibrant Denver” bonds will end up in the same pockets.
We assume that Asher Luzzatto is nobody’s fool. Most of the money to convert the two office buildings will come from governmental entities. If the project fails, the developer will lose very little money but if it succeeds the developer will very handsomely profit.
But what does the super bargain basement sale say about Denver’s economy? At a minimum the city’s budget will soon be in major trouble. Assessments for commercial property in downtown Denver will plummet, which will lead to a commiserate drop in property tax revenues.
Similarly, revenues from the head tax that Denver imposes on people who work in Denver will similarly drop.
Perhaps the proposed Burnham Yard redevelopment that includes a new Broncos Stadium will create some economic growth along with short-term boost from the newly approved Vibrant Denver bonds.
Ultimately reading the tea leaves, Mayor Johnston’s administration is betting on the farm downtown Denver becoming a residential hub through the conversion of office building into residences paid for by the government. If that bet fails hard times will likely await the Queen City of the Plains.
— Editorial Board
