A proposed underground tunnel from Ball Arena has been named a finalist in a contest run by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company.

The Denver project this month was highlighted as one of the 16 finalists selected from 487 entries in the “Tunnel Vision” contest, according to a post on The Boring Company’s official X account. The winning entry will be named on March 23 and will get its tunnel built for free.

“We are excited and honored to be a Tunnel Vision finalist and thank The Boring Company for the opportunity,” Jim Mulvihill, a spokesman for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, told The Denver Gazette in an email.

The proposal was for a 330-foot pedestrian tunnel that would connect Ball Arena — home to the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche — to the nearby Regional Transportation District light rail station. Currently, the line is connected via a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks, he said.

“Whether the future development will feature a bridge or a tunnel at this specific site has not been determined,” Mulvihill said. “We’re still exploring both possibilities.”

The Boring Company has already built a number of operational tunnels in Las Vegas and one in Austin, and is working on tunnels in Nashville and Dubai, according to its website.

The contest sought projects of up to one mile in length with the final tunnel built to a 12-foot inner diameter, the company said on its website.

KSE is already deep in the midst of a development project around Ball Arena. In 2024, it received approval from Denver City Council to rezone 70 acres around the arena to transform its parking lots into a mixed-use of housing, shops, parks and office space. The first phase of that project — an entertainment district, including a pedestrian bridge spanning Speer Boulevard — was expected to be completed by 2032 with the full project targeted to finish by 2050.

The Boring Company’s 16 finalists for its Tunnel Vision contest

Denver Gazette business reporter Bernadette Berdychowski contributed to this report.