Denver: Rockpile Mountain High

Back in the days when there were financial services companies, Denver and its surroundings were an important stop for bankers and analysts alike. It still is, but now there are fewer people participating. Mutual fund god Janus is here as is Putnam and INVESCO. Big media companies are here as well like Liberty, EchoStar, and Time Warner Telecom.

Despite the boom/bust cycles of the last 10 years, this town has been on a roll over the last 20 years when it comes to sports. Super Bowls, Stanley Cups and World Series can all claim a tile in the Denver mosaic during that stretch. Each of the teams that play for those championships got a new stadium as well. The team that plays the baseball stadium got its building first back in 1995. Coors Field has held up very well. The place is big, but feels small. Just over 40,000 filled it last night for a game that had as many playoff implications as a game in mid-July can have.

While it had a lot for me to absorb, it almost didn’t have me.

I didn’t miss a flight or get in a car accident, but I almost didn’t get a ticket. After checking in, I strolled down to the park for a delicious and calm dinner in the half-filled Argentine-themed pizzeria on 22nd St. steps away from Coors. Buenos Aries Pizzeria used to be a parrilla, but was downsized because covers were thin. Apparently, everyone had eaten before the game or was planning to eat inside. (I guess they hadn’t heard about where I had dinner.)

The walk-up was huge. My decision to buy tickets at the stadium nearly backfired. But as they say I baseball you will always see something new.

Mining My Own Business

On the morning of July 24, tickets were still available for purchase in the Rockpile for $4 dollars via the web. The Rockpile is a section of seats behind the fountains and fir trees behind center field that are 600 feet away from home plate. I chose not to buy these tickets in this manner because from the map it looks like the seats are as far away as Aspen. In addition, the fees brought the price of the ticket to $9.50, and while I am all for convenience, I am not for avarice.

This section sold out during the massive the walk-up before game time. My ticket booth agent Nancy told me that the walk-up overwhelmed them on this night and possibly accounted for 10-15% of the sales for the evening. However, she still had one $40 ‘powerticket’ remaining. For $2 more dollars than the $38 ticket in section 144, I could sit two sections closer to home plate (Section 142) and receive $10 in credit toward purchases at certain concession stands around the ballpark.

I could overhear many standing with me in line talking about price thresholds in the $12 or $16 ranges for second or third level tickets. This ticket allowed me to get 22 rows from the field just off the third base bag on the left field side, with 90% of a beer and a dog included. Not a bad deal.

The surprise walk-up should not have been a surprise. These teams are in serious playoff contention. Yet, the fact was corroborated by one of the vendors selling beer out by the Rockpile section of seats. What drew me to his stand-alone cart were the Budweiser and Bud Light labels on his taps. Apparently, the beer situation as Coors Field is not an exclusive, but the Coca-Cola soft drinks are, which is also confusing because Pepsi owns the naming rights to hockey/basketball arena in town, which he did not think had a soft drink exclusive there.

Hmmmph.

Several patrons came up and asked for Coors Lights anyway. The vendor, whose name I was unable to procure, was just happy to be there. Anecdotally, ticket sales have been a bit of a moving target for the Rockies. This gentleman knows this because of his involvement with the Bikes for Tykes charity. Warranted by the size of the crowd, the Rockies will offer hawker and vending jobs to non-profit groups as a way to raise money. Workers are either paid a flat fee for their services or get a percentage of the take of what ever they sell. This is a great program and it works. Other teams, like the Giants at AT&T do it as well.

Last year was a banner year for this program raising over $27,000 for the organization. 2007 was even better thanks to the Rockies getting to the World Series. This year, the program has not been offered as many spots as it had been in past years. As a result donations are down and it is getting even harder for the organizer to staff because of the infrequency of the work, combined with personal situations of the charity members who have less time to give in years past.

Things are picking up though. He anticipates August to be a great month with 11 games against the Cubs, Giants and Dodgers that buoy a three-game set against the Pirates. Tickets in the Rockpile for the Pirates series are $1.

With enough excitement to handle one mile high and one-eighth of a mile away from home plate, I venture back to my seat in section 142. It was already in the fourth inning and the game was moving picking up pace. I was going to have to get lucky to be able to come up with something else.

To my chagrin, more kids in rows 21, 22, and 23 of the section were going to make it difficult to grab the attention of doting parents. I thought all hope was lost. And then, a sound rarely heard in this or any other stadium a trouvé mes oreilles.

I was to become an ambassador.

In other news – The San Francisco Giants tied the Colorado Rockies for the lead in the National League Wild Card race with a 3-1 victory. Nate Schierholtz homered and Matt Cain pitched seven strong innings for his 12th win of the season. The Rockies did get the winning run to the plate B9 but Brian Wilson got Troy Tulowitzki to ground into a game-ending double play for the save.

The view from the Rockpile