This Friday CU will host a double-header of men’s and women’s basketball games. For the Coors Events Center staff, this means a longer day but not necessarily any additional concerns.
Each game requires a team of staff members from athletic ticketing, the cheer team, concessions, CU parking and the CU Police Department. A basketball game will usually last about two hours. The women’s game on Friday starts at 6 p.m and the men’s might not finish until 11 p.m.
“It’s just longer hours, and things may be done a little differently, trying to get people in and out at the same time,” said K.C. Amon of CU parking services.
The cheer squad is split into two teams and each team will only have to work one of the games, CoachTravis Prior said, but most of the staff at the Coors Events Center will work the entire night when there is a double-header.
“The only staff that might change would be the radio folks,” said Steve Wells, director of the Coors Events Center. “The women have a certain crew that covers them, the men have their own color analysts.”
Preparing the arena for two games is the same as preparing it for one, Wells said.
“The process to get ready for two games really is the same for me,” Wells said. “You’ve got to get the facility ready whether it’s an all-day event or a single event, or whether you’re expecting five people or 500 people or 5,000, you’ve got the same square footage and the same process to go through.”
The only difference for the staff in the arena is that they have to pick up trash in between games.
“If you only have two hours to get picked up, that’s intimidating. That can be stressful,” Wells said.
Because it isn’t too much extra work for him, Wells said he appreciates the number of fans and the excitement they bring when there are two games in one night.
“I just like the energy it brings, and the atmosphere. I think is really fun,” Wells said.
When the Coors Events Center opened in 1979, most of the basketball games were lined up on double-header nights. The decision was later made to separate the men’s and women’s teams, possibly because the teams had different fan bases, Wells said.
There usually isn’t too much extra concern from the CUPD, either.
“There are very few problems from basketball games as a whole,” said Steve Depuy, CU patrol officer. “The fans are here longer often times, but it’s just a smooth-running operation.”
