Colorado's Comeback: 'Denver's Ready' Program Offers Incentives To Get Employees Back In The Office

DENVER (CBS4) - In an effort to get even more businesses and their employees to return to the workspace in downtown Denver, organizations are offering perks and even free Rockies tickets to show workers what the city's core has to offer.

It's been a month since city leaders really began to push businesses to come back downtown, but it's been a slow process.

"We are encouraging our downtown businesses to come back to the office in a way that works for them," said Kate Barton with the Downtown Denver Partnership. "Our whole thing with 'Denver's Ready' has been putting out resources helping people navigate those processes, being able to communicate, and having these celebratory moments so they can start to bring people to gather in a way that feels safe and is good for their businesses."

On Thursday, 2,000 employees of businesses that have taken the "Denver's Ready" pledge will be treated to a game at Coors Field. The idea is to get people back in the office for at least half a day and then get them out to the game.

"All of these restaurants and retail are here as well, and it's kind of a way to let offices celebrate because this is a really big moment, and it's something they should be excited about," Barton said.

"It's a pretty easy offer to say, 'how about a day game at Coors Field? I hope the Rockies beat Texas,'" said Jennifer Evans, the Office Managing Partner at Polsinelli Law Firm. "Sort of a unique opportunity for people to come in if they can grab themselves away from their work in the afternoon. Touch base with colleagues they haven't spent much time within a while. Make sure that we still look like we look on Zoom."

Polsinelli is one of the groups that has pledged to bring employees back downtown. Schedules are still flexible, but some employees have been regularly coming back to the office for weeks.

"I think it's really important because you forget how enjoyable it is to work with somebody in person. Things you just remember when you lay eyes on somebody that isn't two dimensional is really nice," Evans said.