Ballpark Denver General Improvement District funded by residents to keep community safe, clean

CBS News

07-03-2025

The Ballpark Denver General Improvement District became the fifth improvement district in Denver when it was established through a special election back in November 2024. Nearly 90% of the district's homeowners and residents chose to tax themselves in order to make the area they live and work in safer and cleaner.
Starting Monday, a team of more than a dozen ambassadors in orange and burgundy will be walking around the Ballpark District, which includes Coors Field and spans a total of 40 blocks.
The launch of the program is a long time coming for Stevenson Farnsworth, a resident and the Ballpark GID treasurer. Farnsworth helped spearhead the initiative. He has owned a home in the area since 2009, and throughout the years, he began to see a noticeable decline.
"But, when the new mayor came in and with Darrell Watson, we saw massive investment to make sure this neighborhood was livable for all folks," Farnsworth said. "And that's kind of what spurred this whole process."
It's an overall win for the community. Some might be asking if it should fall on the backs of the residents.
"Are there gaps on services? Of course," Farnsworth said. "But we were the neighborhood in downtown that didn't have a business improvement district or a general improvement district."
For lead ambassador Madonna Ellerbee, the initiative is personal.
"It doesn't feel like my Denver," Ellerbee said. "So I'm very committed to making this a city that people want to come to and walk around in."
Ellerbee will be overseeing everything from safety escorts, to cleaning services, to the ambassador hotline residents can call for assistance.
The program also has financial contributions from partners such as the Colorado Rockies baseball team. Currently, the revenue from the GID assessment is about $1.3 million for 2025. The district's hope is that amount will increase to $2 million annually in the coming years.