There are 233 separate pieces, collectively weighing 41,625 pounds, that join together to make the Nuggets’ home court at Pepsi Center. No big deal in itself.
And when the Avalanche plays at home, 149 panes of glass, at a half-inch thick, encircle the ice, which itself is specifically temperature-controlled to resist melting (ask the Dallas Stars how difficult that can be). Ho hum.
But swap between court and rink eight times in 12 days? Now that is an operation.
Rev up the forklifts, the Can is overflowing.
What started Thursday night with a late Nuggets matchup against Portland and continues today with an Avs-Calgary tilt, a nearly nonstop run of games will squeeze in at Speer Boulevard and Chopper Circle through April 12.
The stretch includes five Nuggets games, nearly all of them with crucial playoff-seeding implications, and four late-season Avs games, most of them must-wins.
And, as if the Pepsi Center operations crew needed an extra challenge, country-pop belter Taylor Swift breezes through for two sold-out dates Tuesday and Wednesday.
That’s court to ice to court to ice to concerts to court to ice to court to ice to court. In less than two weeks. More than 200,000 people could pass through the turnstiles. For sports fans, what matters is not the head count but the outcome. The Nuggets before Thursday held the fifth seed in the Western Conference, but they were two games behind No. 2 Dallas. Of Denver’s six remaining games in the regular season, four are in Denver, against the Clippers, Lakers, Spurs and Grizzlies.
The Avs, clutching the eighth and final spot in the West before a busy slate Thursday, have six games remaining starting tonight, including four home dates, against Calgary, San Jose, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Can fizzeth over.
Can factoids
A look at how the Pepsi Center is transformed for Nuggets and Avalanche games:
Nuggets:
•Court costs about $105,000.
• Hoops weigh about 3,300 pounds apiece.
• 233 pieces fit together to make the floor, each weighing about 185 pounds.
Avalanche:
•149 glass boards encircle the rink, each weighing as much as 250 pounds.
• The boards are assembled by eight people, with two forklifts, in about 45 minutes.
• Between games, the ice is covered by 600 pieces of fiberglass board, at one inch thick.
Source: Pepsi Center operations
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Intensity on the rise.
As baseball’s spring training winds down, the intensity ratchets up. Thursday’s Cactus League matchup between the Rockies and Cubs brought out some, um, enthusiasm.
After Jeff Francis plunked Chicago’s Aramis Ramirez, the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol threw at Troy Tulowitzki.
All this means little. What does matter is Francis’ five scoreless innings and the three hits by Ryan Spilborghs and two by Seth Smith.
And, for purposes of last-minute scouting, the Rockies this weekend play a two-fer with Seattle that airs on FSN — today at 5 p.m. and Saturday at noon. Both games broadcast live from Albuquerque.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Alvarado back in ring.
Undefeated junior welterweight “Mile High” Mike Alvarado will venture away from his namesake hometown Saturday in a long-delayed return to the ring in Texas.
The boxer last fought 11 months ago, but an elbow injury forced him to withdraw from a planned bout against Paulie Malignaggi. And a traffic-ticket probation violation landed Alvarado in jail for nine months, according to his trainer, Henry Delgado.
Saturday’s nationally televised fight against Miami’s Lenin Arroyo in Corpus Christi is the top undercard to a featherweight title bout between Miguel Angel Garcia and Tomas Villas. The fights air on FSN at 8 p.m.
Alvarado (26-0) last dispensed with Juaquin Gallardo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in May 2009. He has won eight of his past 11 bouts by knockout and shot as high as No. 7 in the world rankings.
Saturday’s bout will be a big test. Is Alvarado in shape? Can he return to the discussion of title contenders? It all depends on if — and how efficiently — he can get past Arroyo (20-11-1), who has lost his last four fights.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Easter weekend races.
Rabbits will be en vogue this weekend, and for reasons sporty as well as fuzzy.
The Tortoise and Hare Relay in Grand Junction, starting at 10 a.m., will pit teams of two in a tag-team of slower runners and quicker racers for 3-mile legs. The paved course should be ideal for both sets (call 970-270-0774 for information).
And in Denver, the City Park 4-Mile run and racewalk, starting at 9 a.m., also will pit different-paced racers against each other. The slower runners get a head start, and the fast try to catch them ().
AROUND TOWN
Buffs scrimmage today.
Dan Hawkins’ Colorado squad is well past the halfway point of its spring practice schedule, but there remains work to be done, the coach says. With that in mind, the Buffs will scrimmage today, in full pads, for the second time in three weeks.
Today’s 4 p.m. scrimmage in Boulder (at Folsom Field, weather-permitting), should give both sides of the ball a chance to, among other goals, reduce penalties. Flags were a problem the last time out at a March 18 scrimmage.
The tilt today is a preview of the CU Spring Game on April 10. Both are open to the public.
Always of interest to fans — especially the hard-core — will be the quarterback position. The Buffs have five names on their spring depth chart at QB, including Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins. But it’s the new names worth keeping an eye on for the future, freshmen Nick Hirschman and Seth Lobato.
