Things To Do In Denver Before You're Dead, Part 2: Sports

Sports:    

I love my sport (apart from cricket and basketball), and I sporting events in the US are fantastic days out, with really reasonably priced tickets.   Denver has a plethora of quality sporting teams and impressive stadiums, which make for a great atmosphere.

Even if you’re not a sports fan, or are British and therefore entirely confused by the mixtures of soccer and rugby that is American Football and think that Baseball is just a massive game of rounders’, the stadiums are really something to behold. 

If you can catch a game when you’re in town, I’d highly recommend it (people sell you beer from your seat.  Your actual seat, peope!)   Also, the games are lively and fun and there’s no real segregation in American sports, as everyone seems to get on.   On a few occasions, when hearing the Scottish accent, we’ve been invited to tailgate with locals in various states and had a brilliant time learning about life and culture in the US.   

Get your head in the clouds with a game at Mile High

Sports Authority Field at Mile High:

This is the home of NFL’s Denver Broncos and was right next to the hotel we stayed in, from whose upper floors we had a fabulous view over the field.    

The Broncos have sold out every single game since 1970, so it that doesn’t tell you how much they are to watch, then nothing will.   With a capacity of almost 79,000 people, the atmosphere must be electric and I wished I’d had a chance to catch a game while I was around.     

Coors Field:

This is where all things baseball-y take place in Denver and is the home of the Colorado Rockies and 33,000 of their closest friends.   I love a bit of baseball, although I don’t profess to completely understand all the rules, I have previously enjoyed games in Boston, Seattle and Toronto while signing up for credit cards which came with free towels and plastic cups with team names emblazoned on them.  I have no reason to doubt that the action at Coors would be any less enthralling that it has been anywhere else.   And I bet they also have awesome free stuff.   

Take in some baseball at Coors Field.

Pepsi Center:

The PC stages games from both the NHL and NBA, although I can’t for the life of me work on how that might work.    One can only assume they are played under the same roof, but in different areas.   Otherwise, that would just be a nightmare.    Particularly if you got the schedules mixed up and got your Zamboni out to ready the surface for a Nuggets game because you thought they were a hockey team.   You could end up being responsible for a whole new sport called ‘Ice Basketball’, which actually sounds like it might be a lot of fun to watch.  Not so much fun to play in, though.  You’d be freezing in those shorts and sleeveless tops, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, the PC hosts games from the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche (who play on ice) and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets (who do not play on ice).   

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park:

The local soccer team, Colorado Rapids, play their home MLS fixtures at Dick’s to an average crowd of around 18,000 people.    Given it’s not the most popular sport in the US; it draws in bigger crowds and has far superior stadia that most of the places I’ve watched football at home in Scotland (and around the world).  Apart from Tynecastle, obviously. 

Suzanne x