McNichols Sports Arena

McNichols Sports Arena
Big Mac
Location	1635 Bryant Street, Denver, CO 80204
Opened	1975
Closed	1999
Demolished	1999
Owner	City and County of Denver
Construction cost	$10 million
Tenants	Denver Spurs (WHA) (1975-1976) Colorado Rockies (NHL) (1976-1982) Colorado Flames (CHL) (1982-1984) Denver Nuggets (National Basketball Association
Capacity	Basketball: 17,171 Ice hockey: 16,061

McNichols Sports Arena (aka Big Mac) was an indoor arena in Denver, Colorado, USA, adjacent to Mile High Stadium. Completed in 1975 at a cost of $10 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games or 17,171 for basketball games and contained 27 luxury suites. The arena was largely shuttered after the Nuggets and Avalanche moved to Pepsi Center (now known as Ball Arena) and was razed in 1999 to make space for a parking lot surrounding INVESCO Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High).

Sports connections

"Big Mac" was the home of the Denver Spurs of the WHA from 1975 to 1976, the Colorado Rockies of the NHL from 1976 to 1982, the Colorado Flames of the CHL from 1982 to 1984, the Denver Nuggets of the American Basketball Association and NBA from 1975 to 1999, the Denver Avalanche of the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1981 to 1982, the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL from 1995 to 1999, and the Denver Grizzlies of the International Hockey League from 1994 to 1995.

McNichols hosted the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1990, won by University of Nevada, Las Vegas 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 one and two of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, where the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Florida Panthers in four games to bring the Mile High City its first major sports championship.

In 1995, the arena was the site of the largest crowd to see an NCAA college ice hockey game in the State of Colorado up to that time, as the University of Denver defeated Colorado College, 3–2, for that year's Denver Cup championship, with over 16,000 fans in attendance.

Preceded by Quebec Coliseum	Home of the Colorado Avalanche 1995 – 1999	Succeeded by Pepsi Center
Preceded by Kemper Arena	Home of the Colorado Rockies 1976 – 1982	Succeeded by Brendan Byrne Arena
Preceded by first arena	Home of the Denver Grizzlies 1994 – 1995	Succeeded by E Center
Preceded by first arena	Home of the Denver Spurs 1975 – 1976	Succeeded by last arena
Preceded by first arena	Home of the Colorado Flames 1982 – 1984	Succeeded by last arena