Pepsi Center (aka The Can[1][2]) is an arena located in
Denver, Colorado, USA. The building
is home to the Colorado Avalanche, Denver
Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado
Crush. When not in use by one of Denver's sports teams, the building frequently serves as a concert venue. Pepsi Center is
scheduled to be the main venue of the 2008 Democratic National
Convention. The arena is properly called "Pepsi Center," not "The Pepsi Center."[3]
Construction
Pepsi Center was constructed as part of a massive 6-year sporting venue upgrade in Denver along with Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, and Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos. The
complex was constructed in order to be readily accessible. The arena sits on Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown
Denver, and is served by a nearby exit off of Interstate 25. There is also
a light rail station on the western side of the complex.
Ground was broken for the arena on November 20, 1997, on
the 4.6 acre site. Its completion in October of 1999 was marked by a Celine Dion concert.
Capacity for the building is listed at 19,309 for basketball games, 18,007 for hockey, and 17,210 for arena football and lacrosse
games. Also included in the complex are a basketball practice facility used by the Nuggets, and the Blue Sky Grill, a
restaurant accessible from within and outside the Center itself. The atrium of the
building houses a suspended sculpture depicting various hockey and basketball athletes in
action poses.
Before the construction of Pepsi Center, the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche played in McNichols Sports Arena, a building that has since been torn down to serve as a parking lot for
nearby Invesco Field.
Activity
Pepsi Center hosted the 2001 NHL All-Star Game, the 2001
Stanley Cup Finals, and the 2005 NBA All-Star Game. From 2004-2006, the center has hosted the Mountain West
Conference men's basketball tournament. The NCAA Men's
ice hockey Frozen Four West Regional was hosted on
March 24 and March 25, 2007.
The Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver was held in the
parking lot from 2002-2006. In 2004, Denver, Colorado was
selected as one of 5 cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports franchise that began in 2005. Titled the Right Guard Open, the inaugural event was held at Pepsi
Center from July 6-10. The Dew Action Sports returned to Denver for its second year in 2006 on July 13-16. During the week of
July 2-8, the arena hosted the International Convention and Contests of the Barbershop Harmony Society, a men's singing organization. The hometown Sound of the Rockies chorus earned the 3rd place bronze medal during this contest and Denver-based
barbershop quartet Storm Front took home the quartet 3rd place bronze medal.
Future events at the building will include the NCAA Men's
ice hockey Frozen Four tournament on April 10 and April 12, 2008. Pepsi Center will
also host the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament as a first and second round site. It hosted the
tournament in the same fashion in 2004. The center was also used in aerial shot of the 2007 film
Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell.[4]
References
- ^ http://search.cityguide.aol.com/denver/entertainment/pepsi-center/v-101448627
- ^ http://www.tickco.com/sports/nba/Nuggets_tickets.htm
- ^ http://www.pepsicenter.com/About/Glance.asp
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445934/locations
External links
Coordinates:
39°44′54.77″N, 105°0′27.51″W
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
