One of the benefits of the Colorado Eagles becoming the AHL affiliate for the Colorado Avalanche back in 2018 was that they were just right up the highway. Literally. Take I-25 North from Ball Arena, keep going, and you’ll eventually come upon Blue Arena, where the Eagles play their home games. Sounds like there’s a chance that might change in the future.
They’d still be right up the highway, but just a little further to the East.
On Wednesday, the Eagles announced that the City of Greeley has met and voted unanimously to explore the possibility of Lind building what he calls the West Side Project, “a mixed-use, transit-oriented, entertainment district development that includes a new arena and ice center, a new transit center/multimodal hub with connections to local, intercity and national bus service, retail, lodging (which is anticipated to include a water park hotel), and mixed-income and affordable housing.”
Here’s a sneak peek at what Lind is looking to accomplish.
We have some major news, Eagles Country!🚨 pic.twitter.com/qZpo92y1iS
— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) July 31, 2024
Blue Arena currently sits 5,200 people, while the proposed new arena would fit 8,600. The Eagles are a popular attraction for folks up north, and have been dating back to their time in the Central Hockey League. Moves like this don’t just happen overnight, so the Eagles will likely stay in Loveland for a few years if this gets approved, but the wheels appear to be in motion. Blue Arena, which was formerly known as Budweiser Events Center, has been around since 2003, and according to Lind, buildings like that have a 25 year shelf life.
We’ll keep a close eye on this situation, as the city manager said the research results will take about eight to 10 weeks to complete. Not much would likely change from an Avalanche perspective, but it’s news nonetheless.
