Sports in Denver, Colorado

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Denver's professional sports teams are illustrated in this mural covering the rear of a building in 1995, just before the Avalanche of the NHL began play.

Denver is home to many sports teams and is part of a select group of U.S. cities with teams from four major sports. The Denver Broncos of the NFL have been able to draw crowds of nearly 70,000 since their AFL origins in the early 1960s and continue to draw fans today to their current home Invesco Field at Mile High. The team has advanced to the Super Bowl six times and won back-to-back in 1998 and '99. In the 1980s and 1990s, one of the top priorities of former Mayor Federico Peña was bringing major league baseball to the city, an effort which culminated in the construction of Coors Field and the creation of the Colorado Rockies as an expansion franchise in 1993. Denver is also home to the Colorado Avalanche, a National Hockey League team that relocated from Quebec City in 1995. They have won two Stanley Cups (1996 and 2001) while in Denver and play at the Pepsi Center, which also hosts the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League. The Denver Bulldogs are a United States Australian Football League team located in Denver that have won five national championships.

Current sporting venues in Denver, Colorado

Invesco Field at Mile High

Coors Field

Pepsi Center

[edit] Past teams

Mile High Stadium was Invesco Field's predecessor.

• Denver Bears former minor league (AAA) baseball team (1948-1992)
• Denver Zephyrs originally, the Denver Bears (moved to New Orleans, 1992)
• Denver Nuggets former National Basketball League & National Basketball Association team (1948-1950)
• Denver Spurs former World Hockey Association team (1975-76)
• Colorado Rockies former National Hockey League team (1976-82); now known as the New Jersey Devils
• Denver Avalanche! former Major Indoor Soccer League team (1980-1982); suspended operations.
• Colorado Flames former Central Hockey League minor league team (1983-1984); associated to the Calgary Flames
• Denver Gold former United States Football League team (1983-1985)
• Denver Dynamite former Arena Football League team (1987, 1989-1991)
• Denver Grizzlies former International Hockey League team (1994-1995); now known as the Utah Grizzlies
• Colorado Rapids, a Major League Soccer team, played at Invesco Field at Mile High through 2006 until a new stadium was built in nearby Commerce City for 2007.

[edit] Event hosting

• Denver co-hosted the 1962 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships (together with Colorado Springs).
• Initially awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics. However, due to rising costs and worries about environmental impact, voters rejected a public-funding ballot measure. Without the bond, Denver could not support the games, and the IOC retracted the award.
• Denver hosted the ABA All-Star Game in 1976 and the 1984 NBA All-Star Game at McNichols Arena.
• Denver also hosted the 1990 NCAA Final Four at McNichols Arena.
• The inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship (November 12, 1993)
• The 1998 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Coors Field.
• The 2001 NHL All-Star Game and FanFest at Pepsi Center.
• 2005 NBA All-Star Game at the Pepsi Center.
• The 2008 NCAA Frozen Four Tournament will be hosted in Denver.
• Denver hosts a yearly race on the Champ Car World Series circuit, the Grand Prix of Denver
• The Colorado Colfax Marathon is run through the city annually.
• The city is strongly considering a bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.^[1]

[edit] References

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