Similar Magness Arena, Meyer–Womble Observatory, Denver Auditorium Arena, Miami Stadium, Maple Leaf Gardens | ||
University of Denver Arena was a 5,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Denver, Colorado. It was home to the University of Denver Pioneers ice hockey team. It also hosted several Frozen Fours. It was razed in 1997 to make room for the $75 million Magness Arena, (part of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness) which opened in 1999.
The structure was originally a U.S. Navy drill hall in northern Idaho, built in the early 1940s at Farragut Naval Training Station at Lake Pend Oreille. It was donated after World War II and reassembled on the DU campus in 1948–49 to house the then-new ice hockey program and served for nearly half a century.
The arena was refurbished in 1972–73 when the roof needed repairs, and 14 seven-ton steel trussess were added to shore up the roof. Additional patchwork renovations were added in the 1990s, prior to razing the building in 1997. The best known features of the arena were the steep bleacher balcony at the south end, and the 1970s rainbow painted on the north end wall. Famous hockey games held there include the NCAA ice hockey finals in 1961, 1964, and 1976.