The Pepsi Center is an arena located in Denver, Colorado. The building is home to the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado Crush. When not in use by one Denver's sports teams, the building frequently serves as a concert venue.
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 concert by Celine Dion. Capacity for the building is listed at 19,099 for basketball games and 18,007 for hockey, arena football and lacrosse games. It hosted the 2001 NHL All-Star Game and the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.
The Pepsi Center was constructed as part of a 6-year sporting venue upgrade in Denver along with Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, and Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rapids.
Also included in the complex is a basketball practice facility used by the Nuggets and the Blue Sky Grill, a restaurant with access from the outside and from those within the Pepsi Center as well. The atrium of the building houses a suspended sculpture depicting various hockey and basketball athletes in action poses.
In 2003, The Pepsi Center hosted WWE Vengeance and Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar and Big Show in a Triple Threat Match to win the WWE Championship.
The complex was constructed in order to be readily accessible. The arena sits on Speer Boulevard, a main throughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by a nearby exit off of Interstate 25.
The venue has hosted the Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament since 2004. Future events at the building will include the NCAA Men's ice hockey West Regional on March 24 and March 25, 2007, as well as the Men's Frozen Four tournament on April 10 and April 12, 2008. The "Can" 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.
Before the construction of the Pepsi Center, the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche played in McNichols Sports Arena, a building that has since been torn down.
The Pepsi Center should not be confused with Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York.
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Center under GFDL
