Liberal City’s ‘shameful’ decision ahead of baseball’s opening day enrages activists

The city of Denver is facing criticism from homeless advocates after removing encampments near Coors Field ahead of the Colorado Rockies’ opening day.

“It’s shameful, and they’re not trying to solve the problem,” Grant Francis of homeless advocacy group Mutual Aid Monday said in Denver7. “They’re just trying to deliver optics that look like they’re trying to do something.”

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The Colorado Rockies will play their home opener next Thursday, April 6. The city began sweeping this week on Larimer Street near Coors Field, according to Denver7.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, a Democrat, has come under fire for sweeps in the past — particularly ones that appear to coincide with sporting events. His administration stepped up sweeps in 2021, just before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the Denver Post previously reported.

“It’s anywhere there’s an event that generates any type of revenue for the city,” Francis said.

A spokesperson for Hancock did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

A general view of the Colorado Rockies on the field against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning at Coors Field on April 9, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

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A 2021 report estimated that the city of Denver spent between $41,679 and $104,201 per homeless person per year. But activists believe the city should increase the availability of housing for people on the streets and provide more services like garbage collection at the camps in the meantime.

“The sweeps have to stop,” said homeless activist Amy Beck in Denver7. “And we have to provide basic sanitation facilities in the camps. We have to do garbage collection and provide bathrooms and access to clean water.”

The City of Denver removed a group of people who had settled at the intersections of 22nd Street and Champ Street on April 30, 2020. (Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

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Denver’s homeless crisis has become a key issue in the upcoming mayoral election.

Residents will vote next week to elect a new mayor, with a runoff in June if necessary. Candidate Kelly Brough, who led the crowded field in a poll in February, said she would end the practice of sweep camps.

“We all know swipes don’t work, moving a tent across a border, pretending we solved someone’s problem, that doesn’t work,” Brough told 9News. “We have to house and shelter people.”