After over a year of speculation and discussion between the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, the two schools have agreed to move their annual football game against each other back to INVESCO Field at Mile High in Denver for the next 10 seasons.
The announcement came Monday, just six days before the two schools battle in Boulder on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The series between the schools, known as the Rocky Mountain Showdown, has been played in the home stadium of the Denver Broncos since 1998, except for in 2004 and 2005 when the games were played in Boulder. The 2010 game was scheduled to be played at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins.
According to officials from the CU Athletic Department, Sunday’s game will take place in Boulder rather than Denver or Fort Collins because if the game was played away from CU, it would then leave the Buffs with only five home games.
School representatives say they need to satisfy ticket holders, sponsorship obligations, club seat and suite contracts, and the businesses in Boulder because of the positive economic impact it brings in with having six games during the regular season.
Starting next year, CU will play at least seven games on the Front Range.
“This seven-game model on the Front Range is integral to our long-term competitive and financial strength of the program,” said Athletic Director Mike Bohn in a news release. “We are most appreciative of the leadership from the City of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and the support of the Denver Broncos Organization and the Metro Denver Sports Commission who are committed to providing our loyal supporters, fans, student-athletes, coaches and CU students with a high quality game day experience.”
The Buffs are 5-4 all-time against the Rams in Denver and have won the last two meetings at INVESCO.
For the games in Denver, CU will be allotted 55 percent of the tickets while 45 percent of them will be given to CSU.
According to Monday’s news release, the two schools will split some of the same revenue that is generated from “club seats and suites for INVESCO events from their owners who purchase the option to attend the CU-CSU game.”
The universities would be able to make more money if the games are nationally televised, as TV rights have been given to ABC-ESPN, FSN, CBS-College Sports and The Mtn.
The 2020 match up between the two schools is scheduled to be played in Fort Collins, but the game may be moved to Denver as a similar situation may arise in 10 years.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Ron Knabenbauer at Ronald.knabenbauer@colorado.edu
