Spend a few days in Denver, and you’re likely to think the term “sports town” was coined for the Mile High City. This town is rabid about its teams.
Denver is one of only a few cities that boast seven big-league sports teams: football’s Denver Broncos, baseball’s Colorado Rockies, hockey’s Colorado Avalanche, basketball’s Denver Nuggets, soccer’s Colorado Rapids, and lacrosse’s Colorado Mammoth and Denver Outlaws. When baseball’s National League was looking for expansion cities, a majority of Metro Denver fans anted up with a tax hike to fund a stadium. “Build it and they will come” became the local mantra. We have Coors Field to show for our efforts.
The Pepsi Center opened as home to the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche in 1999. The 675,000-square-foot arena is also host to dozens of other events such as concerts, circuses, and ice shows. The Colorado Mammoth play here as well. It is located in the Central Platte Valley on the edge of downtown and is connected by a pedestrian walkway to Elitch Gardens amusement park. Inside are 17 concession stands, a 236-seat club restaurant, 95 luxury suites, and fully upholstered cast-iron armchairs throughout the arena. The Sports Authority Field at Mile High opened in fall 2001 to house the Denver Broncos. That year it hosted the first Monday-night game of the season when the Broncos met the New York Giants on September 10. The Denver Outlaws play here as well. The latest addition is Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, the home field for the Rapids soccer team, which opened in 2007.
The National Western Complex and Coliseum in central Denver host periodic livestock events and rodeos, the largest of which is the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in January.