Kroenke Sports and Entertainment announces $135 million Ball Arena renovations

Ball Arena is getting a $135 million face-lift.

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) on Friday announced plans to renovate the home of the Nuggets, Avalanche and Mammoth and filed a site development plan with the City of Denver.

Plans include a reimagined east entrance for fans coming from downtown, new escalators, expanded team shops, widening of the concourses, improved point-of-sale technology and three new premium club spaces for the 27-year-old arena. The plan is to have the upgrades in place by the 2028-29 seasons with the construction done in phases to limit the impact on fans.

“When we acquired the Nuggets, Avalanche and the arena, we committed to developing winning teams and to supporting the city of Denver,” KSE chairman E. Stanley Kroenke said in the news release. “The renovated Ball Arena and the subsequent redevelopment of the surrounding land allow us to keep doing both for another 25 years and beyond.”

There was no mention of new practice facilities for the Nuggets or Avalanche in Friday’s release, but that could be part of expansive future plans for the 55-acre area around the arena. The Nuggets, one of the few NBA teams without a dedicated practice facility, currently practice in an auxiliary gym inside Ball Arena, but there’s only one full-sized NBA court available. The Avalanche practice at Family Sports Center in Centennial.

“The result of this project will be a world-class venue that offers a legendary guest experience night after night,” KSE vice chairman Josh Kroenke said. “The Nuggets, Avalanche and Mammoth will have a home in Downtown Denver to rival any in their respective leagues, and we will reinforce our position as the city’s top indoor space for touring concerts and other major productions.”

The upgrades intend to make the arena more “comfortable, accessible, modern and fan-friendly,” according to a KSE release. Renovated suites in the 100- and 200-levels, which were previously announced, are expected to be ready for the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons.

In July, the City of Denver approved a pedestrian bridge over Speer Boulevard that will connect lower downtown (LoDo) with the redesigned east entrance to Ball Arena, which will feature a large glass facade. The bridge is expected to be operational sometime in 2029.

The first phase of the larger River Mile project includes an entertainment district featuring dining and retail, park space and roughly 6,000 housing units on the land that’s currently Elitch Gardens and the surrounding parking lots. Currently, Brooklyn’s is the only standalone restaurant on the plot of land west of Speer, north of Auraria Parkway and east of Interstate 25. The tentative plan is for that portion of the development to be completed a few years after the arena upgrades, while the entire River Mile project could be completed around 2050.

“Phase 1, we’re projecting as of now a build out around all of Ball Arena by 2032,” KSE senior vice president of development, Matt Mahoney, said at a meeting last year.

The downtown stadium opened as Pepsi Center in 1999 and became Ball Arena in 2020. The Kroenkes acquired the Nuggets, Avalanche and their home arena in 2000. In the 26 years since, the arena has hosted 50 million visitors for events ranging from NBA and NHL games to concerts, NCAA Tournaments and the 2008 Democratic National Convention, KSE said.

A renovated arena and developed area surrounding it will continue to bring fans to the northwest corner of Speer and Auraria.

“It’s an honor when you get to reimagine a venue that means so much to so many,” Josh Kroenke said. “Everyone will still recognize this as the site of some of their most cherished memories but with the amenities, conveniences, technology, and aesthetics of a brand-new building.”