2 hours ago - News

A new playoff fan zone is coming outside Ball Arena

Esteban L. Hernandez

Nighttime crowd of excited fans cheering, holding up smartphones with lights. Many wear sports jerseys; city lights and a tall building glow in the background. — Denver Nugget fans celebrate outside Ball Arena during the 2023 NBA Finals. Photo: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

If you can't score playoff tickets for the Colorado Avalanche or Denver Nuggets, the teams are offering the next best thing just outside Ball Arena.

The big picture: Chopper Circle will close between 9th and 11th streets during Avs and Nuggets home playoff games, making room for a free expanded fan zone and a live game viewing area.

The Nuggets zone will be dubbed Base Camp 5280, while the Avs section will be called Avs Alley.

How it works: The areas will open two hours before scheduled start times for home playoff games, and feature a 20-foot video board, a DJ, food trucks, alcoholic beverages, plus giveaways, mascots and dance team appearances.

It'll be free for the first two playoff rounds, though you still have to get a ticket to enter. You'll pay an admission fee for the NBA Finals or Stanley Cup final.

Between the lines: You can still grab fan zone passes for the second Avs playoff matchup (an opponent hasn't been announced yet).

Passes are already sold out for the Nuggets against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, but additional ticket batches will be released in advance and on gamedays as space allows, a team representative tells us.

Add Axios on Google

A new playoff fan zone is coming outside Ball Arena

More Denver stories