Magness Arena. (Jeffrey Beall/Flickr)
DENVER — The state hockey championships are moving to the University of Denver’s Magness Arena this season, and may be housed at the Pepsi Center in future years.
The move in championship sites is part of an agreement between CHSAA and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, which was finalized this week. It includes the semifinal and championship games.
“This is a big move for our sport,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello, who oversees hockey. “Not only will our players get to play in premier venues this season and in the future, the Avalanche are the most important hockey organization in the state. We are grateful to be able to partner with them.”
This season’s semifinals are March 3, 2017, a Friday. The championship game is on Monday, March 6. Both events will be hosted by the Avalanche.
Hockey’s semifinals and championships were previously at DU in 2013 and 2012. Magness has a capacity of 6,026 fans.
As part of the agreement, the semifinals and championship game could move to the Pepsi Center starting with the 2017-18 season if the dates are available at the arena. If they are not available, the games would remain at DU. The Pepsi Center is home to the Avalanche and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
Pepsi Center. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
The arena has a capacity of 18,007, and has hosted the state hockey championship once before, in 2011. That year, though, the game was supposed to be held at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, but a last-minute conflict of dates forced it to move to the Pepsi Center.
This new deal may be the start of a long-term home.
The Pepsi Center is a familiar venue to CHSAA, as it has hosted the state wrestling tournament for a number of years. In 2016, an estimated 42,500 fans attended state wrestling over three days.
The hockey championship and semifinals have been at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland for the past two seasons.
“We have had the pleasure of playing our final games at the Budweiser Center for the past two years, and appreciate the hospitality and professional manner in which we were welcomed to a beautiful venue along with an outstanding staff,” Ozzello said.
Prior to that, the games were at the Denver Coliseum for one season, and at DU for two years before that. The World Arena in Colorado Springs has also hosted in the past.