The January 27th, 2023 matchup between Denver and Colorado College which was originally scheduled to take place at Magness Arena has been moved to the home of the Colorado Avalanche: Ball Arena. E. Stanley Kroenke’s downtown Denver arena has a hockey capacity of 18,007, nearly 12,000 higher than Magness. This will be the second time in the last decade that a Battle for the Gold Pan matchup will be played in downtown Denver. The last time it happened, the Pioneers beat the Tigers 4-1 in front of 35,144 fans at the Battle on Blake at Coors Field back in 2016.
BREAKING: The January 27th Gold Pan Rivalry matchup between Denver and Colorado College has been moved from Magness Arena to Ball Arena, the home of the Colorado Avalanche.
— LetsGoDU (@LetsGoDU) November 22, 2022
“The Denver-Colorado College rivalry is one of the most-played series in college hockey, and we’re looking forward to showcasing our two historic programs at the home of the Avalanche,” head coach David Carle in the press release. “We are thrilled to host this game at Ball Arena to give the great hockey fans of Denver and our program an opportunity to see us in an NHL venue. The goal is to provide our players with an experience that will be similar to the “Battle on Blake” in 2016, the Loveland Regional last season, and ultimately a taste of what the Frozen Four in Tampa, Florida, this April will be like.”
Fans who already have tickets for the game at Magness Arena will soon receive information from the athletic department about getting reseated at Ball Arena in a similar location. Students will also receive information on how to obtain tickets when they return to campus from Winter Break in January.
“Denver has always been a great hub for hockey and this matchup between two of college hockey’s long-standing rivals in a setting like this only further validates that,” said University of Denver Athletics Director Josh Berlo. “This game will not only showcase Denver and Colorado College’s programs, but NCAA Division-I hockey on a larger scale in our state, region, and beyond. I would like to thank the staff of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment and Colorado College for all their help and support to make this game a possibility.”
One of the driving forces behind this move, according to the press release, was sky-high, record demand for tickets for the longest-running rivalry in college hockey history (this will be the 333rd meeting between the two storied programs). As such, to get tickets to this event – which will be the first time the Pioneers have played a regular season game at Pepsi Center/Ball Arena – you just have to go to DenverPioneers.com/tickets or call the DU ticketing office at 303-871-4625.
Top photo: user troutfarm27 via Ball Arena Wikipedia Page
Great move!
Long overdue!
HOORAY! GO PIONEERS !!!
Fantastic work and nice to see DU thinking big again!
The “Battle on Blake” was six years ago now, and DU has not played a regular-season hockey game in a downtown Denver arena since Magness Arena was under construction in the late 1990s.
Indoors, DU and CC once drew 16,000+ to the old McNichols Arena (the predecessor of Ball Arena) in 1995 as part of the Denver Cup, and the Pios beat then-top ranked CC in OT.
Would love to see this game sell out, too!
Good promotion needed. New fans can be introduced to Pioneer hockey. New exposure of D.U. hockey to many.