Transforming Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado into a state-of-the-art convention hall for the Democratic National Convention was a multi-million dollar race against time.
About the Pepsi Center
Opened: October 1, 1999
Designer: HOK Sport of Kansas City
Nickname: The CanLot Size: 4.6 acres
Building Size: 675,000 square feet of building space on five levels
Seating Capacity: - 19,099 seats for basketball games
- 18,007 seats for hockey, arena football and lacrosse games
- From 500 to 20,000 seats for concerts and other events
Other Facilities: Restaurants, lounges, conference rooms, basketball practice court
Events: Hockey and basketball games, musical acts, ice extravaganzas, circuses, and conventions
Teams: - Denver Nuggets, NBA
- Colorado Avalanche, NHL
- Colorado Crush, AFL
- Colorado Mammoth, NLL
Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center
In 2008, major renovations were necessary to transform Pepsi Center from a sports arena to convention hall for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Alvarado Construction Inc. worked with the original architect, HOK Sports Facilities, to prepare the Pepsi Center. Three local firms supplied 600 construction workers who worked two shifts, operating 20 hours a day over a period of several weeks.
Renovations for the Democratic National Convention:
- Raised the scoreboard from 35 feet to 95 feet.
- Removed seats and glass from luxury suites to make way for television broadcast crews.
- Removed lower level seats to create additional floor space.
- Installed carpet-covered flooring above the existing floor, with a one-foot high channel underneath for electrical and Internet cables.
- Constructed a massive podium with with more than 8,000 square feet of video projection space and three 103-inch high definition plasma displays. See a video: Pepsi Center Podium Design
- Constructed 16-foot high cable bridges to connect the stadium to media pavilions outside.
These alterations provided enough space for up to 26,000 people inside Pepsi Center, and another 30,000-40,000 people on the Pepsi grounds. Since much larger crowds were expected for Barack Obama's acceptance speech, a larger stadium, INVESCO at Mile High, was reserved for the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
All At the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention, the original configuration of Pepsi Center will be restored.
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