These Denver-Boulder Venues Will Be Off-Limits to Anti-Vaxxers

At a November 12 press conference during which he declared that Colorado's current COVID-19 situation isn't sustainable, Governor Jared Polis hinted that a venue vaccination requirement of the sort recently put in place for Ball Arena, home of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, would be coming soon for other large indoor gathering places.

Two days later, on November 14, shortly after Polis appeared on CBS's Face the Nation to talk about this state's worsening stats, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued a new public-health order that institutes a vaccination mandate for any indoor public or private event of 500 or more individuals in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder or Jefferson counties, as well as Denver and Broomfield. Only houses of worship are exempted.

The order specifies that the standard applies to "unseated" events, which suggests that many music venues might be off the hook — but that's not the case. "To be considered a seated event," the CDPHE states, "100 percent of the participants at the event must be seated."

As a result, any venue with open sections or ballroom floors where people can stand and gather near stages must follow the rules. That includes such iconic indoor settings as the Bluebird Theater (capacity: 550), the Fox Theater in Boulder (625), the Oriental Theater (707), the Boulder Theater (850), the Gothic Theatre (1,100), the Aztlan Theatre (1,146), the Ogden Theatre (1,600), the Fillmore Auditorium (3,900) and the Mission Ballroom (3,950).

The order is currently in place through December 31; until December 1, venues can allow admission to people who offer "a verified negative COVID-19 test" in lieu of vaccination proof. For the month of December, however, only people who are fully vaccinated will be allowed inside.

The CDPHE notes that "indoor event venues may submit a variance request...if they have disease mitigation measures that will similarly protect individuals from further disease spread." But the time frame is tight and the situation is serious. As of today, November 15, the New York Times COVID tracker shows Colorado with the seventh-most cases per 100,000 residents within the past seven days for all states, behind only Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont and New Hampshire.

This proof-of-vaccination drill will be nothing new for patrons of some venues. Z2 Entertainment announced on August 2 that either vaccine proof or a negative test from within the previous 72 hours would be required for entry at the Boulder Theater, Fox Theatre and the Aggie Theatre in Larimer County, for example. At others, though, anti-vaxxers will get yet another reminder of how their decision in regard to immunizations will limit choices for the rest of 2021.

Click to read the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's November 14 public-health order update.