A pitched battle is heating up in the Springs. What appeared to be a project to build a small hockey practice facility on the CC campus has morphed into a full-blown on-campus arena. The upscale Old North End Neighborhood is not happy about the sleight of hand by Colorado College leadership.
The announcement of the new Robson Arena was made before consulting with neighbors.
Babs Laustin (CC, ’37), a long time resident along North Cascade Avenue, spoke exclusively to LetsGoDU. “I had my people call CC President Jill Tiefenthaler. The traffic will be terrible – and we moved up here to stay away from the ‘townies’.”
Said Mrs. Laustin, “Even though Jill assured us that the new arena seating plan would cull the area of uneducated types, I am not convinced!”
Henry ‘Toby’ Harden III, an investment banker, calls the plan “incompatible with the pristine nature of the neighborhood. Foot traffic will play havoc with our rose beds. Plus, our chow chow, Princess, does not do well with crowds.”
Marbe McCallister, President of Old End North Neighborhood Association, is concerned with the parking around North Nevada Avenue. “The CC Administration has assured us there will be no impact. Well, there is not enough parking now.”
The Association has purchased property adjacent to CC President Tiefenthaler’s home to build a potential parking garage. “Turnabout is fair play. We’ll be taking this plan to zoning next month.”
Other neighbors even question the University’s long-term commitment to hockey. One resident who wished to remain anonymous said, “With (Head Coach) Haviland at the helm, they can’t be serious.”
Denver faces Colorado College this upcoming Friday night at the Broadmoor World Arena at 7:30 pm MT.
Satire is best when it is is well grounded in truth and this is very funny. CC did initially roll out that arena as a practice facility, knowing full well there would be serious neighborhood pushback had they announced it as a game night arena first.
Nevertheless, CC’s new arena is a great thing for their program and will help to push DU to make some updates to Magness, which is 20 years old now.
Some of the Magness modifications should include:
– I would remove half the seats on the South end, create a band platform and a student bleacher section. DU only sells all of those seats for maybe 5-6 games per season now.
-I would remove the highest part of the North end seating to create a large bar area and party deck overlooking the ice.
-Add more corporate luxury boxes on the east side that could help offset the cost of the modifications and the lost seat revenue
– Upgrade sound system that actually works for all parts of the arena
-Upgrade the DU concourse to reflect a far more dynamic visual approach to capturing DU’s history and tradition. Banners, large photos and wall Displays of DU’s 77 NHL players, 40 Olympians, All-Americans and better Hall of Fame, statues, team photos, etc.
Great suggestions for Magness, Puck. People do not realize how heavily used Magness is for public and private events – so, there is wear and tear. I think the branding for the new locker room area is a great example of how branding helps elevate a space. The concourses do need a facelift. And, I like the plans hoops has for the ‘end zone’ entertainment areas behind the baskets. Seating and sound need to be looked at as well. Because the building envelope is so tight, there are too many end zone seats. Luckily, David Carle and Company are doing a great job this season to give fans a reason to go. Magness has great bones but needs a facelift.