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MLS Colorado Rapids

Dick's Sporting Goods Park Receives Tourism Star Award

November 29, 2007 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Colorado Rapids News Release


COMMERCE CITY, CO (Thursday, November 29, 2007) - At a dinner hosted by the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau Foundation Tuesday night at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, Dick's Sporting Goods Park was honored with a Tourism Star Award. The Tourism Star Award represents outstanding contributors to Denver's travel industry in 2007.

Jointly accepting the award on behalf of the Colorado Rapids and Dick's Sporting Goods Park were Colorado Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush and Kroenke Sports Enterprises' General Manager of Venue Operations, Mike Rock.

"The Colorado Rapids and Dick's Sporting Goods Park are honored in receiving this Tourism Star Award, and to be recognized as such a valuable contributor to our local Colorado community by the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau," said Plush. "Having a world-class facility like Dick's Sporting Goods Park sets us up for the long-term growth of the sport of soccer. This award is reflected in all the fans we hosted at the complex this year, who were comprised of all ages, genders, and ethnicities, and who represented all socio-economic backgrounds, and it was great to bring the world's game to Colorado in the truest sense of the word in 2007."

"Speaking for the entire staff at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, it was our privilege to host over half a million kids and adults from a variety of sports to our field complex over the course of the year," added Rock. "With over a quarter million fans enjoying our stadium as well for Rapids games and events like the 2007 MLS All-Star Game, everyone at KSE is honored to have received this Tourism Star Award."

The newest jewel of Denver's sports landscape, Dick's Sporting Goods Park is comprised of the 18,000-seat home stadium of the Colorado Rapids and its surrounding 24-field, fully-lit professional soccer complex, and is considered the biggest and most state-of-the-art professional stadium and field complex in the world.

Dick's Sporting Goods Park opened its doors for the first time to the public on April 7, 2007 when it hosted Major League's Soccer season opener as the Rapids defeated DC United 2-1 in front of a nationwide audience on ABC. The stadium also hosted the 2007 MLS All-Star game -- making Denver the only U.S. city in history to host five major league all star games in six years.

Dick's Sporting Goods Park's stadium amenities include a total of 20 loge-style luxury suites, a unique open concourse design that allows for 360-degree sightlines to the field, and a world-class grass field with an underground heating and draining system. The stadium also features cutting edge technology, featuring the largest video scoreboard and the most LED boards for a stadium its size anywhere, as well as the only fully-integrated digital signboard system in the world.

Three other local businesses also garnered Tourism Star Awards on the evening- the Great American Beer Festival, The Weil Family of Rockmount Ranch Wear, and the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art.

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