McNichols Sports Arena

McNichols Sports Arena

Company type	Indoor arena
Industry	Sports and entertainment venue
Founded	1975
Fate	Demolished in 2000
Headquarters	Denver, Colorado , United States
Area served	Denver metropolitan area
Products	Sporting events, concerts, entertainment events

McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, situated next to Mile High Stadium. Built in 1975 with an investment of $16 million, it accommodated 16,061 spectators for ice hockey events and 17,171 attendees for basketball contests.

Sports use

The facility was named after Denver's mayor, William H. McNichols Jr. (serving from 1968 to 1983). In 1986, the arena underwent renovations that introduced 27 luxury suites and replaced the original Stewart-Warner end-zone scoreboards with advanced color video displays by White Way Sign.

McNichols Sports Arena was the home venue for the Denver Nuggets during their time in both the ABA and NBA from 1975 until 1999. It also hosted several professional hockey franchises: the Denver Spurs (WHA, 1975–76), the Colorado Rockies (NHL, 1976–82), the Colorado Flames (CHL, 1982–84), the Denver Grizzlies (IHL, 1994–95), and finally the Colorado Avalanche (NHL, 1995–99).

The Nuggets' last game at McNichols took place on May 5, 1999, followed by the Avalanche's final match on June 1, 1999. Although only 24 years old at the time of its demolition, the arena was considered outdated due to cramped concourses, insufficient locker room facilities, a limited number of luxury suites compared to newer arenas—which featured hundreds—and a lack of club seating options.

After both teams relocated to the Pepsi Center, McNichols Sports Arena was closed and subsequently demolished in 2000 to provide additional parking near Empower Field at Mile High.

Notable events

Among significant basketball occasions held here were the NCAA Final Four in 1990 (where UNLV defeated Duke), West Regional semifinals and finals in 1996, as well as early rounds in 1999. The arena also hosted the 1976 ABA All-Star Game along with games 1, 2, and 5 of that year's ABA Finals, plus the 1984 NBA All-Star Game. In hockey history, it was the site for games 1 and 2 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals when the Avalanche swept the Florida Panthers to secure Denver’s first major sports championship.

In addition to sports, McNichols was the venue for UFC 1 in 1993, marking the inaugural event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A remarkable NBA regular-season game occurred on December 13, 1983: a triple-overtime thriller between the Nuggets and Detroit Pistons ended with a combined score of 186–184. Denver’s Kiki Vandeweghe scored 51 points and Alex English added 47, while Detroit’s Isiah Thomas and John Long contributed 47 and 41 points respectively. Despite setting records as one of the highest-scoring NBA games featuring multiple players exceeding forty points each, it lacked local television coverage and attracted just over 9,300 fans. This historic game has since been aired on NBA TV and ESPN Classic.

Concerts

The first event hosted at McNichols Sports Arena was a concert by Lawrence Welk on August 22, 1975.

In 1980, Heart performed their rendition of "Unchained Melody" here; this performance was included on their popular double LP Greatest Hits/Live released that November.

Grateful Dead appeared at McNichols thirteen times between 1977 and 1994. Noteworthy shows include those relocated from Red Rocks due to rain in 1979 and their final Colorado concerts in late 1994.

Elvis Presley sold out a show on April 23, 1976.

During his "West of the Rockies" tour in October 1975, Elton John held two consecutive performances.

On June 7, 1976, Paul McCartney and Wings gave a one-night concert.

The Bee Gees performed on July 2, 1979 as part of their successful Spirits Having Flown Tour.

On November 4, 1979, KISS played during their Dynasty Tour—this was notably their last tour featuring original drummer Peter Criss until his return in 1996.

In that same year, Rolling Stones guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood appeared as The New Barbarians at McNichols.

REO Speedwagon’s concert in 1981 marked MTV’s first live broadcast event.

The Electric Light Orchestra performed during their Time Tour on September 27, 1981.

Between 1982 and 1996, AC/DC played nine shows at this venue.

On June 8, 1986, Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope Benefit Concert took place here featuring headliners U2, Sting, alongside Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers.

Portions of U2's rockumentary Rattle and Hum were filmed during two concerts held here in November of 1987; Bono delivered his memorable "Fuck the revolution!" declaration during "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

From 1976 through to 1980, Jethro Tull regularly performed at McNichols.

In February of 1988, Def Leppard recorded a live performance which was later released as Live: In the Round, in Your Face.

During March of 1988's Bad World Tour, pop superstar Michael Jackson sold out three consecutive shows before crowds exceeding forty thousand attendees.

On July 3, 1986, Prince stopped by during his Parade Tour.

Live tracks from Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble’s November 29, 1989 concert were included as bonus material on their album In Step.

On November 2, 1993, Depeche Mode performed; following this show keyboardist Martin Gore faced a fine for disturbing the peace after a loud hotel party.

The inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event (UFC 1) took place here on November 12, 1993.

Jam band Phish recorded their November 17, 1997 concert at McNichols; this performance was later released as Live Phish Volume 11.

The final musical act to perform at McNichols was ZZ Top on September 12, 1999; they had also been the first rock group to play there back in August 1975.

Other prominent performers included Steve Miller Band and Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1978), Rush (notably on March 1, 1980), and a Halloween triple bill in 1976 featuring Black Sabbath, Heart, and Boston.

On August 1, 1976—under Colorado Sun-Day #2—ZZ Top delivered a three-hour set after The Outlaws canceled last minute; this concert had been relocated from Mile High Stadium following Blue Öyster Cult's withdrawal.