Read the article in the Denver Post about a proposed re-design of the terminal.

I like the idea of a FasTracks station. It is overdue. But making the Great Hall into a sterile area is a waste of money, IMO. Who wants to take a crowded train to the terminal just to eat and shop?! It's true that the shops in the Great Hall don't get much business, but I cannot see this plan as improving their lot any.

Re-design so that security screening doesn't take so much of the Great Hall: Excellent idea.

Re-design so that the public can no longer use the Great Hall: Very, very bad idea.

Agreed.

I also loved their reasoning that by doing the redesign it would "reduce costs to pax", as more traffic at shops in Great Hall --> more revenue for DEN --> charge less to airlines --> charge less to pax. Rrright....

This would be funny if it weren't so ridiculous.

I guess whoever came up with this plan forgot that many of the crappy restaurants and shops in the great hall also have locations in the sterile area already, in one of the terminals? Yes, I'm sure a lot of those connecting pax don't come out to the main terminal to go to Panda Express...but why would they, when there's one in Terminal A? I guess maybe spending $160 million is worth it to give them the option of going to Taco Bell and Burger King - woo hoo!

I suppose "getting the great hall back" is a noble goal, but frankly, I've flown in/out of DIA hundreds of times, ALL since 2001, and I think it's still a pretty impressive building even with TSA taking up the floor space it does. This sounds like a logistical nightmare and a huge waste of money.

One benefit is international passengers will be able to exit customs and immigration and continue onto their connecting flight without having to go through security again. I always wondered why they didn't do it that way in the first place.

Yes, both of them.