Denver city officials soaked up the sun on the roof of the Colorado Convention Center Wednesday, as they’re hoping thousands of convention attendees will do in coming years with the rooftop terrace expansion.

“These are the best views in the convention industry,” said Janice Sinden, Visit Denver Board Chair.

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In a “Raising the Roof” event, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock marked the commencement of construction on the terrace, and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom, with speeches and a photo opportunity of him raising a construction beam with officials from the City of Denver, Denver Arts and Venues, Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and general contractor Hensel Phelps.

“I’m here to tell you that we should not and cannot take this for granted,” Hancock said. “Not a lot of cities in the country are able to celebrate these kind of moments today. … We can celebrate like this and expand our convention center to remain competitive.”

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The $233 million project will add a total of 200,000 more square feet to the 2.2 million-square-foot center. The two, 280-foot cranes were on full display Wednesday to the crowd of about 75 gathered.

“Voters overwhelmingly supported this expansion back in 2015 and it’s finally coming to fruition,” Hancock said. “And despite the pandemic, we have remained on schedule and moving this project forward. Now when it’s complete, in 2023, we’re anticipating it to generate some $85 million in new economic annual impact.”

The project is expected to support “as many as 2,000 new, direct hospitality jobs,” and 2,700 construction jobs.

“We’re going to be employing new construction managers, carpenters, laborers, and more, to the tune of $195 million in payroll and benefits. I think that’s worth celebrating,” Hancock said. “These investments are about building back better. It’s about setting up Denver for not only today, but for the future.”

Money for expansion includes $104 million from Measure 2C, passed by voters in 2015 and $129 million in Certificates of Participation issued in 2018, with repayment of the certificates derived from Tourism Improvement District revenues, a portion of the seat tax and excess revenues from the Convention Center Hotel, according to a City of Denver release.

The Convention Center business cratered in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sinden said it lost more than 800 meetings, worth more than $1.2 billion in economic impact.

“The staff is working really hard to rebook all of that business into the future,” she said. “Many of you know the hotel lodgers tax has traditionally been the sixth largest tax base in the city and county of Denver, and now it’s 29. That’s a huge impact not only on the industry but on the budget of the city of Denver.”

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Rachel Benedick, executive vice president of sales and service for Visit Denver, said convention business should mostly return to normal in 2022.

“We sell the future, so at this point we’re looking at next year and feel good about where we’re at,” said Benedick in an interview after the event. “2021 was still a transition year.”

The highlights included the MLB All Star Game, the Outdoor Retailers show and the Brewer’s Association meeting. Coming up is the American Public Health Association, which is bringing about 2,500-3,000 for an in-person convention in October.

“We’re sold out through 2031,” she said.

Construction is expected to wrap by the end of 2023.