GENERALLY

Denver Revised Municipal Code ch. 7, art. II, div. 1

in effect

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-10 Definitions and exemptions.

Sec. 7-10. - Definitions and exemptions. Words and phrases used in this article shall have the following meanings ascribed to them: (a) Amusement facilities shall mean any permanent facilities or establishments open for public viewing or participation and used for (as specifically described in section 7-11): performances of music, performances of dance, comedy, oration, and drama; sporting events and exhibitions; animal exhibitions; recreational activities; and similar live or recorded entertainment; provided, however, similar activities shall be exempted if conducted in any facility or establishment: (1) Licensed under any other article of this chapter or under article III of chapter 6 (unless licensing under this article is specified in another article of this chapter); (2) Owned and operated by the city or its agents or agencies, or operated on city property by concessionaires or contractors under contract with the city; (3) Owned or operated by School District No. 1 or a state-accredited private school or academy; (4) Owned or operated by a state-accredited college or university; or (5) Owned or operated by a charitable, civic, political, patriotic, religious, educational, recreational, fraternal or cultural organization which is tax exempt pursuant to section 501(c) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, so long as the income derived by the organization from said facility or establishment is not subject to taxation as "unrelated business income" under sections 511 and 512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. (b) Temporary amusements shall mean short-term amusements conducted on premises not owned or operated by the entities or organizations specified in paragraphs (a)(2), (3), (4), and (5) of this section or not owned or operated by a person who already holds an amusement facilities license for a facility or establishment in which the amusement may be lawfully presented or held. (c) Amusement devices shall mean any mechanical or electronic machines or equipment providing games of chance or skill or interactive entertainment and available for public use in a commercial establishment. Amusement devices shall include, but are not limited to, video games, computer games, pinball machines, foosball machines, arcade games, and similar amusement devices. Amusement devices shall not include pool tables or billiard tables, children's rides, or jukeboxes or similar electronic or mechanical music machines which do not involve games of chance or skill or interactive entertainment. (d) Amusement center shall mean any commercial establishment that has four (4) or more amusement devices. (e) Billiard parlor or pool hall shall mean any commercial establishment that has over ten (10) percent of its total internal floor space used as a playing area for billiard and/or pool tables. (f) Performance of dance means a performance on stage in which one or more performers dance for the entertainment of the public which observes the dance. The term does not include situations where members of the public itself dance. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98; Ord. No. 500-01, § 1, 6-18-01; Ord. No. 643-06, § 1, 10-2-06)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-11 Amusement facilities.

Sec. 7-11. - Amusement facilities. (a) Subject to the exemptions set forth in subsection 7-10(a), amusement facilities shall include the following types of permanent facilities and establishments for which a charge for admission or participation is imposed, a mandatory donation or gratuity is required, or some other remuneration or consideration is expected in order for the public to enjoy or utilize: (1) Theaters, amphitheaters, auditoriums, or music or concert halls, both indoor and outdoor, providing live or recorded performances of music, dance, comedy, oratory, drama, or similar performing arts and entertainment; (2) Baseball parks, stadiums, arenas, athletic grounds, racetracks, and similar sports centers used for the presentation of sporting events, contests, and exhibitions; (3) Aquariums, animal parks, zoos, and similar facilities primarily featuring animal exhibitions and shows; (4) Amusement parks, water parks, amusement centers, billiard parlors, pool halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks (ice or roller), skate parks, miniature golf, golf driving ranges, shooting galleries, firing ranges, and similar recreational facilities, but not including athletic or health clubs, gyms, or swimming pools; and (5) Any commercial business or establishment regularly or occasionally offering or providing live or recorded entertainment, including adult entertainment, for on-site viewing by patrons and that is not otherwise subject to licensing under article III of chapter 6 or under any article of this chapter. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-12 Temporary amusements.

Sec. 7-12. - Temporary amusements. (a) Subject to the exemptions set forth in subsection 7-10(b), temporary amusements shall include the following types of short-term shows, exhibitions, or special events for which a charge for admission or participation is imposed, a mandatory donation or gratuity is required, or some other remuneration or consideration is expected in order for attendees to enjoy or participate: (1) Shows and exhibitions: Circuses, carnivals, rodeos, festivals, fairs, bazaars, haunted houses, Christmas displays or shows, animal shows, petting zoos, stock shows, automotive shows, collector shows, touring exhibits, and similar shows or exhibitions of extended duration; (2) Special events: Concerts, performances of dance, musicales, dramatic or comedy performances, sporting exhibitions or contests, and similar events of brief duration. (b) A show or exhibition licensed under paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be restricted to: (1) Those open to the public for up to thirty (30) consecutive calendar days or for thirty (30) calendar days total within a ninety-calendar day period, as specified in the license; provided; (2) The specified location at which any show or exhibition is held must not have hosted another show or exhibition within the past one hundred twenty (120) calendar days. (c) A special event licensed under paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall be restricted to: (1) Those occurring in a single calendar day; during a two-calendar day weekend (either Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday); or during a three-calendar day period that includes a weekend and a nationally recognized holiday; provided (2) No more than ten (10) special events total can be held at a specified location during the calendar year. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98; Ord. No. 500-01, § 2, 6-18-01)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-13 Basic requirements for all licensees.

Sec. 7-13. - Basic requirements for all licensees. (a) A licensee authorized by the license to present any amusement that may produce music or noise audible beyond the boundaries of the licensed premises or that may produce lights or vibrations perceivable beyond the boundaries of the licensed premises shall: (1) Comply with any terms or restrictions as may be reasonably imposed by the director in the license to mitigate or eliminate sound, noise, vibration, and light impacts upon nearby residents and properties, including the location and orientation of outdoor entertainment, sound amplification equipment, and lighting equipment as well as late-hour restrictions on use of outside lighting or inside or outside amplified sound; and (2) Take all reasonable measures necessary to assure compliance with the noise control provisions of chapter 36 with respect to noise occurring in or near the premises and related to the licensed activities. (b) A licensee authorized by the license to present any amusement that may cause exceptional traffic and parking problems for the surrounding neighborhood shall: (1) Comply with any traffic or parking management plan approved by the director after consulting with the appropriate city departments with authority to control traffic or parking as said plan is incorporated as a term or restriction in the license for the mitigation or elimination of any exceptional traffic or parking problems directly arising from or associated with the licensed premises, especially with respect to those problems generated from peak traffic conditions or extraordinary parking demands, or from late-night activities; and (2) Cooperate with city police, zoning officials, and other authorized city officials in implementing any approved traffic or parking management plan or in otherwise resolving or handling traffic and parking problems that may arise on certain occasions from activities associated with the licensed premises. (c) A licensee authorized by the license to provide any games of chance or skill shall: (1) Not promote, provide, or permit gambling or professional gambling as these terms are defined in section 38-146; and (2) Not promote, provide, or permit any game or device represented or appearing to be a game of chance or skill knowing or having good reason to know that the game or device has been designed, constructed, rigged, or operated so as to deprive or cheat the player, who has paid money or given other remuneration or consideration, of any reasonable prospect of winning prizes displayed or touted as being winnable. (d) A licensee authorized by the license to provide entertainment involving the display or use of animals shall: (1) Not engage in or allow any acts, including acts of neglect or abuse, that would result in cruelty to animals in violation of article VII of chapter 8; and (2) Comply with any terms or restrictions reasonably imposed by the director in the license to protect or aid animals that may be displayed or used. (e) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, or any manager or employee of said licensee, to violate or to facilitate a violation of any provision of this section or any term or restriction imposed by the director in the license. (f) The provisions of this article shall not apply to any establishment that sells, serves, or gives away alcohol beverages, nor shall any of the licenses provided in this article be issued to any such establishment. Such establishments may apply for a cabaret license under article III of chapter 6. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98; Ord. No. 500-01, § 3, 6-18-01)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-14 Unlawful acts, conduct, and conditions.

Sec. 7-14. - Unlawful acts, conduct, and conditions. (a) A licensee under this article shall conduct the operation and activities of an amusement facility or temporary amusement in a decent, orderly, and safe manner. To that end, a licensee, or any manager or employee of said licensee, shall not allow, without taking reasonable steps to prevent or rectify, i) any act or conduct, identified in subsection (b) of this section, to be committed or engaged in by a patron, guest, employee, agent, or other person associated with the amusement facility or temporary amusement on or in the premises or ii) any condition, identified in subsection (b) of this section, to occur or exist on or in the premises. As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall mean: (1) "Reasonable steps" shall mean, as appropriate under the circumstances, contacting and reporting to the police or other appropriate authority in a timely manner; or requesting the persons engaged in prohibited acts or conduct to cease the same unless the licensee, or the manager or employee of said licensee, reasonably believes that his or her personal safety would be threatened in making such a request; or taking any legally required or other appropriate measures, including closure and/or repairs, to remediate, control, or eliminate any prohibited condition. (2) "Premises" shall include all indoor and outdoor areas specified in the license, any parking lot(s) or open public area(s) owned by the licensee, leased or rented to the licensee, or available for the use of the establishment or business, and any public sidewalks abutting the premises or said parking lot(s) or open public area(s). (b) Those acts, conduct, or conditions prohibited under subsection (a) of this section shall be: (1) Any unlawful act under the Colorado Liquor Code or the loitering of intoxicated individuals or individuals under the influence of alcohol, narcotic drugs, stimulants or depressants; (2) Any unlawful act under chapter 38 relating to offenses against public or private property, offenses against public order and safety (including weapons possession), and morals offenses, including those pertaining to illegal sexual conduct and drugs and intoxicants; (3) Any act constituting a felony or misdemeanor offense under Title 18 of the Colorado Revised Statutes; (4) Any act, conduct, or condition which presents an unreasonable danger or threat to the health or safety of those using or working in or near the premises or those residing or working in the neighborhood in which the amusement facility or temporary amusement is located, including health, fire, and building code violations, to the extent that such act, conduct, or condition is not timely remediated, controlled, or eliminated, as appropriate, following discovery or actual notice; or (5) Any recurring acts or conduct that are patently offensive or indecent to any reasonable person, that the licensee has failed or refused to take any meaningful corrective actions against after receiving actual notice from the director, and that can be shown, by the statement of witnesses or compelling circumstantial evidence, to have occurred on three (3) or more occasions within a six-month period. (c) A conviction or other judicial determination of guilt, violation, or liability under a city ordinance or a state statute shall not be a prerequisite in order to find a violation under this section. (d) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, or any manager or employee of said licensee, to engage in or to facilitate any act, conduct, or condition identified in subsection (b) of this section on or in the licensed premises. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-15 Adult entertainment.

Sec. 7-15. - Adult entertainment. (a) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, or any manager or employee of said licensee, operating an amusement facility to offer, provide, or permit on the premises any adult entertainment if any individual under the age of eighteen (18) years is admitted, employed, or otherwise allowed on or in the premises at the time said adult entertainment is offered or provided. (b) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, or any manager or employee of said licensee, operating an amusement facility to offer, provide, or permit on the premises any adult entertainment if not specifically authorized to provide such adult entertainment in the license issued for the premises under this article. (c) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, or any manager or employee of said licensee, conducting any temporary amusement to offer, provide, or permit on the premises any adult entertainment. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 7-16 Registration of resident managers for amusement facilities.

Sec. 7-16. - Registration of resident managers for amusement facilities. (a) It shall be unlawful for any licensee under this article to operate an amusement facility unless the current name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the resident manager(s) of the amusement facility have been registered in writing with the manager, together with any other information reasonably required by the manager. (b) Whenever a resident manager is changed, or the address or telephone number of such resident manager is changed, the licensee shall, within thirty (30) days, register a new resident manager or the change of address or telephone number of the resident manager. (c) A "resident manager" is an individual who manages and controls the premises and who is responsible for securing compliance with any ordinances or regulations applicable to the amusement facility. (Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98; Ord. No. 1003-25, § 4, 7-28-25)

Source: City and County of Denver, Revised Municipal Code and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/co/denver/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIIREMUCO_CH7AM_ARTIIAMFATEAM_DIV1GEFetched: 10/27/2026