DENVER - Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) has unveiled plans for Prairie Gateway, its new stadium and sports park in Commerce City, Colo., scheduled to open in April 2007.
The state-of-the-art stadium will seat up to 18,000 people for sporting events and up to 26,000 for concerts. The stadium will be home to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer and will host the educational programs of the National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth.
The stadium's capacity and number of surrounding playing fields combine to make Prairie Gateway the largest soccer complex in the world.
The stadium
The stadium will seat 18,000 sports fans in a combination of 11,000 fixed seats and approximately 7,000 bench seats. Bleacher and lawn seating for up to 2,000 additional fans may be located on the berm area at the north end of the stadium. The removable bleachers may be relocated outside the stadium for use in the sports park. A total of 22 loge-style luxury suites will line both sides of the field.
The stadium will sport a unique look designed specifically by arena architect HOK to reflect the shape of the Rocky Mountains west of the stadium. A number of massive, angled, painted-steel panels will be arranged to form a pitched "mountain" over the seating areas on either side of the field.
The stadium's unique design will allow for 360-degree sightlines to the field so that fans may walk completely around the stadium without ever missing a play. Stadium concourses between 28 and 36 feet wide will access seating on three sides of the field, while a pedestrian bridge with a 14-foot concourse will span the berm area at the north end of the stadium.
The locker rooms are designed with home team, tournament and multi-team use in mind. The stadium will feature one large, deluxe "home team" locker room. The "away team" locker room space may be partitioned into as many as four small locker rooms.
Fans entering the stadium at the main entrance, located on the west side, will access a box office with 11 ticket sales and will call windows. The east side of the stadium will provide three windows and one advance ticket window.
Sports park
A major component of the complex will be the sports park surrounding the stadium. The park will feature 24 playing fields, including the Colorado Rapids practice field, and will be available for use by players of all skill levels. The fields are expected to draw up to 500,000 players annually. Some of the fields may use artificial turf, and all fields will be lit for nighttime use, satisfying a requirement for national tournament play.
An awards stage and a massive scoreboard for recording and displaying results for all fields of play will be a focal point of the sports park.
Concert staging
Concerts and stage events will be an important draw at the Prairie Gateway complex. A concrete pad and staging area at the north end of the stadium will allow stage set-up of virtually any size and seating will accommodate as many as 26,000 concert fans.
Press area
A separate entrance will usher media to broadcast facilities and a 30-seat press box. Four radio broadcast booths, two television broadcast booths and two general managers boxes will be part of the press area.
Eateries
Eight permanent concession areas will ring the stadium concourses, supplemented by up to 12 portable concession stands.
A permanent, full-service bar and grill will be located at the south end of the stadium, seating 100 patrons at inside tables, 100 patrons at concourse tables and 100 patrons at an outside patio with field view. Concession and restaurant contract announcements will be made at a later date.
Parking
Paved, on-site parking will accommodate approximately 5,000 vehicles. Overflow parking will be available in surrounding areas.
Location
The Prairie Gateway development is located nine miles northeast of downtown Denver near the intersection of Interstate 70 and Quebec Street. The main entrance is located on 56th Avenue east of Quebec.
The stadium and sports park cover 360 acres of a nearly 1,000-acre development that also includes more than 600,000 square feet of retail space, a new civic center for Commerce City, and a new visitors center and educational facility for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
