Denver will not be home to the proposed National Medal of Honor Museum.
Museum officials chose Arlington, Texas, over Denver, in an announcement Wednesday. The museum is scheduled to open in 2024 near Arlington's AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
“Arlington, Texas is the optimal location to build America’s next national treasure - the National Medal of Honor Museum,” Joe Daniels, president and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, said in a news release Wednesday. “All of us at the Museum were simply overwhelmed with the enthusiasm, warmth and level of commitment of those involved, who have worked beyond expectation to have the Museum come to Texas.
The Regional Transportation District's Board of Directorslast week unanimously voted in favor of subleasing a vacant lot next to Civic Center Station for an entranceway to the proposed museum.
An earlier tied vote sparked controversy, with published reports blaming the deadlock on one board member who reportedly questioned the need for a museum. But after a request from Gov. Jared Polis to reconsider, RTD's board agreed to hold the vote.
Artist renderings of the proposed entranceway showed the lot as a tree-lined pathway from downtown to the proposed museum entrance across from the state Capitol, a news release read. The City and County of Denver had proposed paying RTD the same $123,000 a year the transit agency now pays to lease the property, according to RTD.
The National Medal of Honor Museum project would memorialize about 3,000 medal recipients from around the country, and was being touted as a patriotic honor and an economic development boon for the chosen city.
