Sports in Denver

This is a list of sports in Denver, Colorado, United States. Denver is home to many professional sports teams who are based out of Denver and surrounding cities in the metropolian area. It is also one of the twelve American cities to house a team from each of the U.S. cities with teams from four major league sports. All four of its teams play their home games near downtown with three active sports venues which includes Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos; the Ball Arena, home of the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets; and Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. There is also a Major League Soccer (MLS) team based in the Denver metro area (Colorado Rapids), but they do not play their home games in the city of Denver and is located in nearby Commerce City.

Denver is located in the United States
Denver
Denver
Location of Denver in the United States of America.

Denver, and the wider metropolitan area, is home to six college sports teams with two schools having NCAA Division I programs and four schools with NCAA Division II programs. The Division I Colorado Buffaloes are located in Boulder which is part of the metro area while the Denver Pioneers are located in Denver. Division II Metro State Roadrunners and Regis Rangers are also located in Denver, while Colorado Christian University and the Colorado School of Mines are located in the western Denver suburbs of Lakewood and Golden respectively.

Major league professional teams
Empower Field at Mile High
Coors Field
Ball Arena
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
See also: Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada

Denver is the least populous of the 13 U.S. cities with teams from four major sports.

The Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) have drawn crowds of over 70,000 since their AFL origins in the early 1960s at Mile High Stadium and continue to draw fans today to their current home Empower Field at Mile High. The Broncos have sold out every home game (except for strike-replacement games) since 1970. The Broncos last championship was in 2016, defeating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. In total, the Broncos have advanced to the Super Bowl eight times and won back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999, and again in 2015.

In the 1980s and 90s, one of the top priorities of former Mayor Federico Peña was bringing Major League Baseball to the city. In 1993, the MLB awarded an expansion team to Denver and they were named the Colorado Rockies. Mile High Stadium was home to the Rockies from 1993 to 1995 while Coors Field was under construction. They appeared in their first World Series in 2007 after winning their first NL pennant, their only one to this day, where they were swept by the Boston Red Sox of the American League in four games.

The Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) play at the Ball Arena. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA) but changed its name to the Denver Rockets before their first season. They changed their name to the Denver Nuggets in 1974. The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA-NBA merger. They made their first NBA finals appearance in May of 2023, after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. In the 2023 NBA Finals, the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in five games to win their first NBA title in franchise history.

Denver is also home to the Colorado Avalanche, a National Hockey League (NHL) team that relocated from Quebec City in 1995. They have won three Stanley Cups in 1996, 2001 and in 2022 while playing in Denver, and they also play at Ball Arena. The Avalanche played the Detroit Red Wings in the first ever outdoor professional hockey game in Denver on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at Coors Field and again against the Los Angeles Kings at the Air Force Academy on Saturday, February 15, 2020.[1]

The Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS) play at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a soccer-specific stadium in the Denver suburb of Commerce City. The Rapids were one of the ten founding teams of Major League Soccer that began play in 1996, and initially played at what was then known as Invesco Field at Mile High before moving into their current home in 2007. The Rapids won the MLS Cup in 2010. The Rapids' main rival is Real Salt Lake, and the two teams play every year for the Rocky Mountain Cup. Dick's Sporting Goods Park has also hosted several international soccer matches, including U.S. national team qualifying matches for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Club Sport League Venue Capacity Since Notes
Denver Broncos Football NFL Empower Field at Mile High 76,125 1960 The Denver Broncos started in the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 and didn't join the NFL until 1970 after the AFL–NFL Merger
Denver Nuggets Basketball NBA Ball Arena 19,502 1967 The Denver Nuggets began playing in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and didn't join the NBA until 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger
Colorado Rockies Baseball MLB Coors Field 46,897 1993 The Colorado Rockies are a 1993 MLB expansion team. They began playing at Mile High Stadium until 1995
Colorado Avalanche Ice hockey NHL Ball Arena 17,809 1995 The Colorado Avalanche began in Quebec City as the Quebec Nordiques in 1972. They began playing in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and didn't join the NHL until 1979
Colorado Rapids Soccer MLS Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,061 1996 The Colorado Rapids are one of the original MLS teams that began playing in 1996. They played at Mile High Stadium until 2001
Colorado Mammoth Box Lacrosse NLL Ball Arena 17,809 2003 The Colorado Mammoth began as the Baltimore Thunder in 1987 and then became the Pittsburgh CrosseFire in 2000, then moved to Washington D.C. in 2001 to become the Washington Power until relocating to Denver in 2003

Top tier amateur teams

Denver and the wider metro area is also home to other professional sports teams.

TeamLeagueVenueNotes
Glendale MerlinsPacific Rugby PremiershipInfinity ParkThe Glendale Merlins began as the Colorado Raptors and were the Glendale Raptors until 2017. They include a men's team in the Pacific Rugby Premiership and a women's team in the Women's Premier League. Its top side team played in Major League Rugby from 2018 to 2020.
Centennial TigersU.S. Australian Football LeagueSweetwater ParkThe Centennial Tigers are a defunct women's amateur team that are based out of Lone Tree[2]
Denver BarbariansUSA RugbyInfinity ParkThe Denver Barbarians were founded in 1967 and are currently competing in USA Rugby
Denver Highlanders RFCUSA RugbyJacob ParkThe Denver Highlanders were founded in 1968 and a perennially competitive Rugby Football men’s club
Denver BulldogsU.S. Australian Football LeagueVeterans ParkThe Denver Bulldogs consist of a men's team and a women's team

College sports teams

Former teams
Mile High Stadium was Empower Field's predecessor.

Event hosting

Local events

"Big Four" events

International events
  • 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.
  • The city strongly considered a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. In December 2011 a Denver 2022 exploratory committee was launched.[3] Reno-Tahoe was also interested in bidding for 2022.[4]
  • The Churchill Cup, a now-defunct annual international competition in rugby union featuring the USA and Canada senior national teams, the England Saxons (that country's second-level national team), and three invited teams, was hosted by Denver in 2009, with matches held at the rugby-specific Infinity Park in Glendale and Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Denver was suggested as a permanent home for the competition. The 2010 tournament featured preliminary rounds in Denver. Also, Denver was reportedly in the running to host a Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia and New Zealand national teams, possibly in 2010, though that did not materialize.

Other events

Detailed information by team

Current teams
Club League Venue Championships Since
Division Conference League
Centennial Tigers USAFL Sweetwater Park 0 2020
Colorado Avalanche NHL McNichols Sports Arena (1995–1999)
Ball Arena (1999–present)		 12 3 Stanley Cups: 3

President's Trophies: 3

 1995
Colorado Mammoth NLL Ball Arena (2003–present) 3 2[lower-alpha 1] 2 2003
Colorado Rapids MLS Mile High Stadium (1996–2001)
Invesco Field at Mile High (2002–2006)
Dick's Sporting Goods Park (2007–present)		 2 MLS Cups: 1

U.S. Open Cups: 0

 1996
Colorado Rockies MLB (NL) Mile High Stadium (1993–1994)
Coors Field (1995–present)		 0 Pennants: 1 0 1993
Denver Barbarians Pacific Rugby Premiership
Rugby Super League (United States) (1997–2012)		 Infinity Park Division DI: 1
RSL: 1
Division DII: 1		 1967
Denver Broncos AFL (1960–1969)
NFL (1970–present)		 Mile High Stadium (1960–2000)
Empower Field at Mile High (2001–present)		 AFL: 0
NFL: 15		 AFL: 0
NFL: 8		 AFL: 0
NFL: 3		 1960
Denver Bulldogs USAFL Veterans Park (1999–present) Men's Team: 8
Women's Team: 6		 1999
Denver Nuggets ABA (1967–1976)
NBA (1976–present)		 Denver Coliseum (1967–1975)
McNichols Sports Arena (1975–1999)
Ball Arena (1999–present)		 ABA: 2
NBA: 10		 ABA: 0
NBA: 1		 ABA: 0
NBA: 1		 1967
Glendale Merlins
(Glendale Raptors, 2007–2017)		 Pacific Rugby Premiership Infinity Park (2007–2017) Men's Team: 3
Women's Team: 2		 2007

College teams
School Team League Venue Championship Since
Division Conference National
University of Denver Denver Pioneers NCAA Division I University of Denver Arena (1948–1998)
Magness Arena (1999–present)		 Hockey: 9 Hockey tournaments: 15
Final Frozen Four: 18		 NCAA total: 34

Hockey 9
Men's lacrosse 1
Skiing 14

Co-ed
Skiing 10		 1925

Former teams
Club League Venue Championship Played
Division Conference League
Colorado Crush AFL Pepsi Center 2 1 1 2003–2008
Colorado Raptors (2020)
Glendale Raptors (2018–2019)		 MLR Infinity Park 0 2018–2020[lower-alpha 2]
Colorado Rockies NHL McNichols Arena 0 0 0 1976–1982
Denver Bears (Western League) Western League Western League (1885-1899) Pennants: 2
Class titles: 5		 1885–1954
Denver Cutthroats CHL Denver Coliseum 0 2012–2014
Denver Dynamite AFL McNichols Arena 1 1987–1991
Denver Dynamite (soccer) PASL-Pro (2008–2010)
PASL-Premier		 Denver Sports Center (2008)
Denver Bladium (2009)
Westridge Recreation Center (2010–2011)
Apex Field House (2012–2014)
Parker Fieldhouse (2009, 2014–2015)		 0 0 2008–2015
Denver Grizzlies IHL McNichols Arena 1 1 1994–1995
Denver Nuggets NBL (1948–1949)
NBA (1949–1950)
Also played in other leagues		 Denver Auditorium Arena AAU Tournament: 3 1932–1951
Denver Outlaws MLL Empower Field at Mile High (2006–2019)
Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium (2019)		 2 3 2006–2020
Denver Spurs WHL (1968–1974)
CHL (1974–1975)
WHA (1975–1976)		 Denver Coliseum (1968–1975)
McNichols Arena (1975–1976)		 1 1968–1976
Denver Stampede PRO Rugby CIBER Field 1 2016
Denver Zephyrs
Denver Bears (1955–1983)		 American Association (1955–1962, 1969–1992)
PCL (1963–1968)		 Mile High Stadium Class titles: 2
League titles: 7		 1955–1992

See also

Notes
  1. NLL began conference play in the 2021–22 season
  2. Team withdrew from league in 2020

References
  1. "Avalanche to Host Outdoor Game in 2016". nhl.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. "Centennial Tigers Australian Rules Football Club". centennialtigers.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  3. Exploratory Committee Formed For Denver 2022 Bid
  4. GB Editor (January 14, 2010). "Reno-Tahoe 2022 Olympic Bid Gets "Shot In The Arm"". GamesBids.com. Retrieved 2009-01-20. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)

39.7392°N 104.9850°W / 39.7392; -104.9850 (Denver)

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