Misplaced Pages

#850149

54-647: In June, 1974, Ivan Mullenix, owner of the CHL Spurs, was awarded a "conditional" NHL franchise for the 1976-77 season. With the McNichols Sports Arena already complete by 1975, he looked to enter the NHL a year early, and the league attempted to broker an arrangement whereby Mullenix would acquire the California Golden Seals (then under league ownership) and move them to Denver in lieu of an expansion team. At

108-488: A "conditional" NHL franchise for the 1976–77 season . With McNichols Sports Arena already completed by 1975, he looked to enter the NHL a year early, and the league attempted to broker an arrangement by which he would acquire the struggling California Golden Seals and move them to Denver in lieu of an expansion team. At the same time, the Pittsburgh Penguins would be sold to a Seattle-based group that had also won

162-511: A 12-win season in 1975–76, they still fared better on the ice over their first two years than their expansion cousins, the Washington Capitals . However, Capitals' owner Abe Pollin was far better financed than the 37-member consortium that owned the Scouts, and had the patience to handle the typical struggles of an expansion team. Additionally, the Scouts were hobbled by an economic downturn in

216-687: A 186–184 triple-overtime Detroit win over the Nuggets. The game, still to date, is the highest-scoring game in NBA history, and also holds the record for the most players to score 40 or more points in a single game. However, the game was not televised in the Denver area (instead being shown back to the Detroit market, via WKBD-TV ) and was attended by just over 9,300 people. This game has since been broadcast on NBA TV and ESPN Classic . The opening event at McNichols Sports Arena

270-530: A conditional franchise for that city. The proposed arrangement fell through, however, and with the continuing franchise difficulties, the NHL called off the 1976–77 expansion. The Spurs then elected to move to the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the 1975–76 season, but Denver fans did not consider the WHA a major league and stayed away in droves. By December, rumors that the NHL was preparing to move either

324-571: A cost of $ 16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. It was named after Denver mayor William H. McNichols Jr. , who served from 1968 to 1983. A small-scale scandal surrounded the naming because McNichols was in office at the time. Twenty-seven luxury suites were installed as part of a 1986 renovation. The renovation also saw the original Stewart-Warner end-zone scoreboards, which each had color matrix screens, upgraded by White Way Sign with new digits and to include new color video screens. McNichols Sports Arena

378-719: A few times, one occasion being March 1, 1980. On Halloween, 1976, Black Sabbath, Heart and Boston played to a huge standing room only crowd in McNichols. ZZ Top played on August 1, 1976, under the Colorado Sun-Day #2 event. When BOC dropped out, the concert was moved from Mile High Stadium to McNichols Arena. Then the Outlaws were added to the billing. The night of the concert, the Outlaws did not show, due to some illness, so ZZ Top started early and played for at least three hours. Colorado Rockies (NHL) The Colorado Rockies were

432-662: A parking lot surrounding Empower Field at Mile High . McNichols hosted the NCAA Final Four in 1990, won by UNLV over Duke University and the West Regional semifinal in 1996. It was also host to the 1976 ABA All-Star Game, in which the host Nuggets defeated the ABA All-Stars, games 1, 2, and 5 of the 1976 ABA finals, and the 1984 NBA All-Star Game . It also hosted games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, where

486-577: A professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that played in Denver from 1976 to 1982. They were founded as the Kansas City Scouts , an expansion team that began play in the NHL in the 1974–75 season . The Scouts moved from Kansas City, Missouri , to Denver for the 1976–77 season . After six seasons in Denver, the franchise moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey , for

540-636: A road trip, Mullenix quietly moved the Spurs to Ottawa on January 2, 1976, where they were renamed the Ottawa Civics . The players had heard talk a move out of Denver was imminent, but only learned of move at their next road game that night in Cincinnati , when they took the ice in their Denver jerseys and saw the name "Civics" on the scoreboard. Despite playing to sellout crowds at two home games in Ottawa, Mullenix and

594-498: A sold-out concert here on April 23, 1976. Elton John performed here for two consecutive nights, October 5–6, 1975 as part of the " West of the Rockies " tour. Paul McCartney and Wings performed here for one night June 7, 1976. The Bee Gees played here on July 2, 1979, as part of their highly successful Spirits Having Flown Tour . The band KISS performed at McNichols on November 4, 1979, as part of their Dynasty Tour . This

SECTION 10

#1732855507851

648-598: A staggering 15.00 goals against average (GAA). The Spurs played their first regular-season game at home against the Indianapolis Racers . Before only 5,000 fans, the Spurs scored the first goal, only to give up seven unanswered goals en route to a 7-1 loss. By December 30, they were in the Western Division cellar with a 13–20–1 mark, despite an overtime win over the Racers that night in Denver. It would turn out to be

702-531: Is Rockin’" (Live), "Let Me Love You Baby" (Live), "Texas Flood" (Live), and "Life Without You" (Live) were recorded on November 29, 1989, at McNichols Sports Arena. Depeche Mode held a concert for its Devotional Tour at the arena on November 2, 1993. Following the performance, keyboardist Martin Gore was arrested by local police and fined $ 50 for disturbing the peace when holding a loud party in his hotel room. The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event UFC 1

756-655: The 1982–83 season and was renamed the New Jersey Devils . Denver went without an NHL team until the Quebec Nordiques relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche following the 1994–95 season . The Rockies name itself would be applied to Denver's Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion team that began play in 1993 . Ivan Mullenix, owner of the Central Hockey League 's Denver Spurs , had been awarded

810-619: The Chicago Black Hawks , the only team in the division with a .500 record. This allowed them to edge out the Vancouver Canucks for the last playoff spot by only two points (in those days, the division runners-up were guaranteed a playoff spot). The Rockies went down rather meekly in the first round, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in a two-game sweep. They never came close to the .500 mark during their six years in Denver, and

864-647: The Midwest . Facing almost $ 1 million in debt, the Scouts' owners decided to sell the franchise after a season ticket drive sold only 2,000 tickets. A Denver-based group headed by Jack Vickers purchased the Scouts and moved them to Denver, renaming them the Colorado Rockies . The team remained in the Smythe Division of the Campbell Conference and retained the Scouts' colors of blue, red and gold, as they were

918-516: The flag of Colorado , served as inspiration for the Avalanche's secondary logo on their current third jerseys, which were first unveiled in the 2015–16 season. The "C" on the aforementioned logo was also emblazoned on the primary jersey's shoulders as well. The logo was also used on the jersey of the Avalanche for the 2016 Stadium Series . In the 2022–23 season , both the Colorado Avalanche and

972-589: The new arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey which was under construction and expected to be completed by 1980. His imposition of the team's eventual transfer alienated many fans. Before he could complete the move, however, Imperatore sold the Rockies to Buffalo -based cable television magnate Peter Gilbert; the NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale on February 10, 1981. At

1026-460: The 1977–78 season was the only one in which they even came close to a playoff berth. The Rockies did have some star players for a short time. Barry Beck set a record in his rookie year for goals by a rookie defenseman, and Hall of Fame right winger Lanny McDonald was picked up in a trade with Toronto . In addition, they at various times had such players as Chico Resch , Wilf Paiement , Rene Robert , Rob Ramage , and Bobby Schmautz . However,

1080-729: The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Florida Panthers in four games to bring Denver its first major sports championship. UFC 1 , the first event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , was held there in 1993. Another notable event at McNichols took place on December 13, 1983, when the Nuggets hosted the Detroit Pistons in a regular season contest. Nuggets players Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English scored 51 and 47 points, respectively, while Piston Isiah Thomas also scored 47 points, with teammate John Long scoring 41 in

1134-479: The Founders Club were unable to reach a deal. The Founders Club could not meet Mullenix' asking price, and Mullenix was not willing to operate the team in Ottawa. After the Founders Club offered $ 1 million for the franchise, short of Mullenix' demand of $ 1.5 million, negotiations for the sale were called off on January 15, and the team folded for good two days later. The Spurs/Civics' 41-game existence made them easily

SECTION 20

#1732855507851

1188-639: The NHL following the 1995–96 season as a member of the Ottawa Senators , and played his final professional season for the Kölner Haie in Germany in 1997. In that season, incidentally, Colorado saw the NHL return to Denver after 13 years, when the Quebec Nordiques moved to the city and became known as the Colorado Avalanche , though Cirella did not play in either of Ottawa's games against Colorado that season. Additionally, Rockies draft pick Bruce Driver played in

1242-513: The NHL from 1995 to 1999. The NBA's Denver Nuggets played their last game on May 5, 1999, against the Houston Rockets , and the Colorado Avalanche played their final game on June 1, 1999, during the playoffs versus the Dallas Stars . Though the arena was only 24 years old when it was demolished, like most arenas of the 1970s, it was narrow and dark in the concourse-level corridors. In addition,

1296-545: The NHL until 1998, but did not join the team until 1983, a year after their move to New Jersey. Two other former Rockies, Paul Gagne and Rich Chernomaz , played until 1999 in the Swiss and German leagues, respectively. The 2001 Stanley Cup Finals pitted the teams that have called Colorado home (past and present) in their histories against each other. The Avalanche defeated the Devils in seven games. The Rockies are credited as being

1350-487: The New Jersey Devils wore "Reverse Retro" uniforms featuring the Rockies' red, gold and blue palette. The Rockies had a 113–281–86 regular season record and a 0–2 record in one playoffs appearance. This list does not include the captains of the Kansas City Scouts . This list does not include the coaches of the Kansas City Scouts . Note: This list does not include selections of the Kansas City Scouts . KWGN 2

1404-451: The Seals or Kansas City Scouts to Denver led Mullenix to conclude he could not survive in the city. Out of desperation, he moved the Spurs to Ottawa almost halfway through the season. However, the renamed Ottawa Civics lasted only two weeks before folding. Meanwhile, the Scouts were on the verge of collapse despite having entered the NHL only two years earlier. Although they suffered through

1458-584: The WHA to be a major league. The situation wasn't much better on the ice either. Veteran Ralph Backstrom was one of the Spurs' few experienced players, but at 38 his career was in decline. Still, he wound up leading the team with 50 points in 41 games. The rest of the roster was filled with cast-offs and career minor-leaguers, such as Don Borgeson, who had played for the WHL Spurs from 1971–73; he finished second to Backstrom in points scored with 41. They could never find an answer in goal; one of their goalies ran up

1512-556: The WHA. In 1992 Bridgman became the first general manager of the new Ottawa Senators NHL franchise, which would initially play its home games at the Civic Centre. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver , Colorado , United States. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at

1566-697: The accompanying film. Jethro Tull played the arena from 1976 to 1980. Def Leppard recorded one of their shows here in February 1988 and released it as Live: In the Round, in Your Face . Pop star Michael Jackson performed 3 consecutive sold-out shows in front of 40,251 people during his Bad World Tour on March 24 and 25, & 26, 1988. Pop star Prince made a stop here on July 3, 1986, while on his Parade Tour . The bonus tracks on Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 's album In Step , including "The House

1620-489: The band was scheduled for three nights at Red Rocks, but performances on August 13 and August 14, 1979, were moved to McNichols because of rain. The Grateful Dead would return to play the arena on July 13 and July 14, 1981, December 12–14, 1990. Performances on December 2 and December 3, 1992, would be the first shows of 1992 following the band's break in 1992. The band played its final three Colorado shows on November 29, November 30 and December 1, 1994. Elvis Presley performed

1674-425: The cheers of the crowd. The failure of Vickers' petroleum business left him unable to pay the lease at McNichols Arena in 1978. The deal was unfavorable from the beginning, as the Rockies never received any revenue from parking, concessions, or advertising. Vickers sold the Rockies on July 12 of that year to Arthur Imperatore Sr. , whose intention was to keep the franchise in Denver temporarily before moving it to

Denver Spurs - Misplaced Pages Continue

1728-421: The expansion team to finish last in the WHA's Western Division. It also said that unless the Spurs drew well immediately, "Denver's stay in big-league hockey could be exactly 27 years shorter than Gordie Howe's." The Spurs' first exhibition game, against Howe's Houston Aeros , proved to be a microcosm of their brief stay in the WHA. No beer was available because Mullenix was unable to get a liquor license, there

1782-462: The first team to use the Gary Glitter song " Rock and Roll, Part 2 " at a sporting event. The team played it after every goal scored by a Rockies player. Other NHL teams picked up on this practice, as did teams in other leagues. In recent years, however, Glitter's child sex offenses caused teams to distance themselves from the song. The Rockies' original logo, a mountain peak with the silhouette of

1836-546: The franchise's history came during the 1979–80 season , when the flamboyant Don Cherry , a former Jack Adams Award winner, was named head coach after being fired by the Boston Bruins . Under Cherry, the Rockies adopted the motto "Come to the fights and watch a Rockies game break out!" The phrase was plastered on billboards all over Denver in the 1979–80 season. As he later admitted, Cherry's outspokenness and feuding with Rockies general manager Ray Miron did not endear him to

1890-470: The franchise, but they involved making the long-awaited move to New Jersey. The team was relocated for the 1982–83 season and renamed the New Jersey Devils . The last Rockies player on the New Jersey Devils' active roster was Aaron Broten , upon his trade to the Minnesota North Stars on January 5, 1990. The last active NHL player who had played for the Rockies was Joe Cirella , who retired from

1944-422: The front office. While Cherry was adept at motivating the players, goaltending was still the team's weakness, as Miron refused to replace Hardy Astrom , whom Cherry dubbed "The Swedish Sieve". Cherry recalled one game where his players had gotten ten shots on goal without scoring, but Astrom then conceded a goal from the opponent's first shot and so was pulled from net. The Rockies finished with 51 points, tied for

1998-451: The last game the Spurs would play in Colorado. Rumors had abounded even before the Spurs got on the ice that the NHL was planning to move either the Seals or the Kansas City Scouts to Denver. By late December, Mullenix got word that the Scouts were in very serious discussions about moving to Denver for the following season. Knowing he couldn't hope to compete with an NHL team, Mullenix began

2052-469: The locker rooms and shower facilities were not updated to NBA and NHL standards. Also, the arena lacked enough luxury suites (27 compared to some newer arenas' 200 or more) and had no club seating . Combined, these factors effectively made McNichols Sports Arena obsolete. The arena closed after the Nuggets and Avalanche moved to the Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) and was demolished in 2000 to make space for

2106-457: The process of selling the team to the "Founders Club," a group of businessmen based in Ottawa , on New Year's Eve. He had initially begun negotiations with the Founders Club a month into the season when the first rumors cropped up of a Scouts move to Denver. Soon after Mullenix reopened the Ottawa feelers, the Founders Club insisted that Mullenix move the team to Ottawa immediately. In the middle of

2160-480: The relocation of the Quebec Nordiques (ironically, a former WHA franchise) to Denver as the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 that Denver would enjoy lasting success in major league hockey. The last active Spurs player in the NHL was Ron Delorme , who retired after the 1984-85 season and also played with the Colorado Rockies. As well, Spurs draft pick Mel Bridgman played in the NHL until 1989, but never played in

2214-533: The same colors used on the Colorado state flag. Despite a new name and a new city, the team's situation did not improve significantly. In their six seasons of existence, the Rockies made the Stanley Cup playoffs only once, in 1977–78 . Even then, they finished with the sixth-worst record in the league, 21 games under .500. However, the Smythe Division was so weak that year that the Rockies finished second behind

Denver Spurs - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-461: The same time, the bankrupt Pittsburgh Penguins would be sold to a Seattle group who also held a conditional franchise, which would have been named the Seattle Totems . The proposed arrangement fell through, and with the continuing franchise difficulties, the NHL called off the 1976-77 expansion. Mullenix accepted an offer from the WHA to join that league for the 1975-76 season. The Spurs were

2322-548: The second WHL refugee to join the WHA, following the Phoenix Roadrunners . The WHA Spurs claimed most of the players in a dispersal draft from the Chicago Cougars , who had folded in 1975, and some players from the CHL Spurs were also retained. A Sports Illustrated preview on the upcoming WHA season noted that it was stalwart Gordie Howe 's 28th year in major league hockey, and the Spurs' first. The magazine picked

2376-479: The shortest-lived franchise in WHA history, and one of the shortest-lived franchises in North American professional sports history. The Spurs' abrupt departure turned out to be a prescient move, as the Scouts indeed moved to Denver for the following season, becoming the Colorado Rockies . The Rockies only lasted six seasons, though, before relocating again and becoming the New Jersey Devils . It would not be until

2430-409: The team suffered a constant lack of overall depth, and trades tended to sacrifice quality for quantity. Plagued by instability, the Rockies had seven coaches in four years, none lasting more than one full season, and ownership changed hands twice in four years. Attendance was fairly respectable, considering that the team was barely competitive on the ice and unstable off it. One of the few highlights in

2484-612: The time, the NHL seemed to be committed to keeping a team in Denver. Gilbert had promised not to move the team, and league president John Ziegler said that he wanted to make the Rockies a model franchise. Finally in 1982, after a failed bid by an Ottawa -based ownership group intent on moving the Rockies to the Canadian capital, the franchise was sold in May to New Jersey shipping tycoon John McMullen , who also owned Major League Baseball's Houston Astros . He announced that he had "big plans" for

2538-563: The worst record in the league. Despite this, the team had an average attendance of 9,787, the highest in their six-year history. In their final game, which was held at home, Cherry's team defeated the Penguins 5–0. As it was already known that Cherry would not return the next season, he wore a cowboy hat and cowboy boots for what would be his last NHL game. After the final buzzer sounded, his players formed two lines for him, raising their sticks to form an arch for Cherry to walk under while acknowledging

2592-431: Was a concert by Lawrence Welk on August 22, 1975. The group Heart performed their rendition of " Unchained Melody " at the arena in 1980. "Unchained Melody" was included on their highly successful double LP Greatest Hits/Live released November 1980. The Grateful Dead played McNichols 13 times between 1977 and 1994. The Grateful Dead here for the first time on their Fall Southwest Tour on October 9, 1977. In 1979,

2646-477: Was headlined by U2 and Sting and also featured Bryan Adams , Peter Gabriel , Lou Reed , Joan Baez and The Neville Brothers . Parts of U2's half-live rockumentary Rattle and Hum , came from two concerts filmed in the arena on the third leg of the band's Joshua Tree Tour in November 1987. The recordings notably included Bono's famous "Fuck the revolution!" speech during " Sunday Bloody Sunday ", featured in

2700-420: Was held on November 12, 1993. Phish performed and recorded their show, on November 17, 1997, which was later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish Volume 11 . ZZ Top performed at the venue's final concert on September 12, 1999. They were also the first rock band to play the arena on August 27, 1975. Steve Miller Band and Bachman-Turner Overdrive played McNichols in 1978. Rush played McNichols

2754-432: Was no flag to face during the national anthem, and the scoreboards didn't work. Only 5,000 fans showed up. The situation didn't get much better during the regular season; they only averaged 3,000 fans in a 16,800-seat arena. The most widely cited reason for the poor attendance was hard feelings over being spurned by the NHL. Denver-area fans had been banking on an NHL team after three years of advertising and did not consider

SECTION 50

#1732855507851

2808-902: Was the home of the Denver Nuggets of the ABA and NBA for its entire existence from 1975 to 1999. It also hosted multiple hockey teams, including the Denver Spurs of the WHA during the 1975–76 season, the Colorado Rockies of the NHL from 1976 to 1982, the Colorado Flames of the CHL from 1982 to 1984, the Denver Grizzlies of the International Hockey League from 1994 to 1995, and the Colorado Avalanche of

2862-588: Was the last tour featuring original drummer Peter Criss until 1996. Rolling Stones guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood performed as The New Barbarians at the arena in 1979. REO Speedwagon 's concert from 1981 was performed here, as MTV 's first ever live concert. Electric Light Orchestra performed here September 27, 1981 during the Time Tour . AC/DC performed here 9 times between 1982 and 1996. The arena played host to Amnesty International 's A Conspiracy of Hope Benefit Concert on June 8, 1986. The show

2916-479: Was the over-the-air television broadcaster throughout the Rockies' existence. From 1976 to 1979 , Joe Starkey was the play-by-play announcer for radio and television simulcasts. Don Earle was the secondary play-by-play man in 1977–78 . Beginning in 1979–80 and on through the end of their final season in Colorado, Norm Jones was both the radio and television play-by-play man. Ralph Backstrom (1979–80), Jack Jolly ( 1980–81 ), and Sandy Clough (1981–82) were

#850149