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It was a fun night out with the Colorado Rapids thanks to RazorGator. At the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, you can get your hair painted the team colors of burgundy and blue to show your team spirit for the Rapids. If you don’t want to walk around with colored hair, you can buy an autographed jersey ($200) to display your love of soccer.

If you’ve had a stressful day, you can get a chair massage while attending the Rapids game. There were many booths for soccer fans to shop or get information. You can buy jewelry, find out about laser treatments, or get information about local non-profits in the Denver area.

Before the game, The Cantina is open two hours prior to the start of the game so all of you tailgaters can enjoy a meal and drinks right inside the stadium.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Information
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Google Maps
6000 Victory Way
Commerce City, CO 80022

In 2007, the Colorado Rapids were able to play soccer in their very own stadium. Prior to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park creation, the Rapids were playing games in the Bronco’s stadium, Invesco Field. The first Rapids game my husband and I watched was at Invesco. After my experience of watching a soccer game at the football stadium, it was so much better to see the Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

I could actually see the teammates kick the ball around and follow the game at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. When I attended a Rapids game at Invesco I couldn’t see a thing and was quite bored. At Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the ballpark is small and the seating is so close that I could see the Rapids tossing the ball around with their feet and head. This made watching the soccer game so much more exciting and I was cheering them on as they got close to kicking a goal!

Directions to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
I live on the Northwest side of Denver and the soccer park is on the Northeast side. It took us twenty minutes to get to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. We hopped on I-70 going East then exited on Quebec turning left. Take a right on 56th Avenue and you can see the stadium from Quebec Street. It was very easy to find the stadium, because there are signs that will direct you to the park and event parking. The BIG plus parking is FREE, well; actually, the cost of parking is included in the ticket price. But it’s really nice that we didn’t have to come up with more money to park.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is near the airport so it would take you about five minutes to get to a Rapids game depending on how quickly you can get out of the airplane. From the Denver International Airport, you would take I-70 West and exit off Quebec go right to 56th Avenue and turn right.

From downtown Denver, you would get on I-25 North. There are several ways to get on I-25 from downtown, you can get on the interstate from 20th Street, Speer Boulevard, Colfax Avenue, and Park Avenue, but it’s still the same direction on I-25 from any of these streets go North. Exit onto I-70 East until you get to Quebec turn left to 56th Avenue and go right.

Parking, Hotels, and Restaurants
Parking is FREE at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. There are parking attendants at the stadium, who will direct you to the open spaces. We didn’t have any problem finding parking and there are many lots to choose from. Getting out of the park was super easy, there was a bit of traffic, but it didn’t take us long (five minutes) before we were back on I-70.

There are several hotels near Denver International Airport and it would take about five minutes to get to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. La Quinta Inn and Suites is located at 6801 Tower Road. I really like La Quinta Inn and Suites and stay at them often. I love that they allow big dogs and have a great breakfast with waffles, fruit, yogurt, bagels and some locations have eggs, sausage and bacon. They serve breakfast every day, have a fitness center, allow pets and have complimentary shuttle service.

Days Inn Business Place is located at 7030 Tower Road. For you golf lovers, the Buffalo Run Golf Course is five miles from the hotel so you can play some rounds of golf and see a Rapids game without traveling far. Plus, Days Inn offers a complimentary 24-hour fitness room, breakfast, they have a pool and Jacuzzi and the rooms have coffee makers, refrigerators and microwaves.

There are several hotels conveniently located near the Stapleton and Northfield shopping centers. Red Lion Hotel is located at 4040 Quebec St. They allow pets; have a restaurant on site, fitness and business center and room service. Doubletree Hotel is at 3203 Quebec Street. I’ve stayed at a Doubletree before, not this one, but it was a fantastic stay with a comfortable bed and very large shower. This Doubletree has a restaurant on site; allow pets, fitness center and a lobby bar.

There are several places to choose from to get a bite to eat around Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. At the Stapleton Shopping Center there is Old Country Buffet, Panda Express, Panera Bread, McDonalds, Arby’s, Anthony’s Pizza, Chipotle, and Noodles & Co. Northfield Shopping Center has Olive Garden, Red Lobster, TGI Friday’s, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Qdoba Mexican Grill and a couple restaurants that I have dined in.

Jim N’ Nick’s BBQ was a tasty place to eat. Their BBQ was Louisiana based and we were used to Texas BBQ, but it was still very good. My husband and I sampled Mr. Jim’s Deluxe combo, which was a half a rack of ribs and three meats. We ordered the sliced beef brisket, smoked pork hot links and pulled pork BBQ. My husband liked all the meats, but I wasn’t crazy about the hot links. The combo also includes four trimmings and we had Mac the Cheese, creamy cole slaw, potato salad and BBQ baked beans. Mac the Cheese was my favorite and really tasty.

The homemade pies at Jim N’ Nick’s BBQ were very scrumptious. They were made from scratch every day. My husband’s only complaint was the pies were not served with ice cream. He suggested this on the comment cards that were on the tables. We haven’t been back to see if ice cream has been included at the Jim N’ Nick’s BBQ in Denver, but we do plan to dine there again and we’ll check to see if they have ice cream available.

Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar & Grill was the other restaurant we tried out at Northfield. We were not impressed with our meals and thought it was too pricey. The fact that we weren’t crazy about the food could be due to the fact that we have our favorite Chinese restaurant in Denver and everything else really doesn’t compare to Peter’s Chinese. I would suggest trying Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar & Grill to see if you like it.

If you want to shop while you are in town to catch a Colorado Rapids game, there are many, many shops at Northfield and Stapleton. Wal-Mart, Sams, Payless Shoes, Fashion Bug, Linen N’ Things, PetSmart, Radio Shack and more can be found at Stapleton. JcPenny, Macy’s, Target, Old Navy, Office Max, Sunglass Hut, Forever 21, Ann Taylor Loft to name a few of the stores that are located at Northfield.

Eats, Spirits and Sweets at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
There are many goodies to be bought at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. I munched on some cinnamon and sugar covered almonds at the game. My mother-in-law had the cinnamon and sugar walnuts. Both were really tasty and cost $4.25 for a small bag. If you are not a nut eater, there is kettle popcorn for $6 and regular popcorn for $4.25. For the kids, there is cotton candy ($3), mini donuts ($4.50), and Cracker Jacks ($3.75).

Stadium meals to choose from are burritos ($6.25), soft tacos ($6), pepperoni or cheese pizza ($7), Bratwurst ($6), Stadium dog ($4.50), Prairie pack of four hotdogs ($8), Cheese Steak ($6.50), Better Burger Basket ($6.75), Monster Nachos ($8), Deluxe Nachos ($6.25), and regular nachos ($4.50). My mother-in-law had pepperoni pizza and thought it was alright. She stated there was a lot of dough and little fixings, but would order it again. However, my mother-in-law thought the Better Burger Basket looked interesting and will sample at the next Rapids game she attends. I thought the Monster Nachos looked scrumptious and will check them out at the next game.

Drinks are plenty at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Bottle beer is $6.25 with a variety of ales to choose from: Miller Lite, Tecate, Blue Moon, Heineken, Corona, Pale Ale, Fat Tire, and Dos XX. Beers on draft were American Ale, Budweiser, Bud Light, and Dos XX for $6.25. Margaritas ($7), Frozen cocktails ($7), cocktails ($6.50), wine ($6), water ($3.25), coffee ($2.50), hot chocolate ($2.50), slushies ($4.75) and soda ($4.25) are also available.

Soccer With The Colorado Rapids
My husband had to work and missed his favorite sporting event. However, his mother loved the fact that she was able to go and cheer on the Rapids. We enjoyed the seats in the third row and could see every play. The first BIG play of the night was when Omar Cummings kicked a goal for the first point for the Rapids.

I don’t know much about soccer, but I did know to just keep my eye on the ball and yelled, “kick it in,” when the Rapids were close to the goal. Omar did just that for a second goal. The Colorado Rapids won the game against DC United with an ending score of 3-0.

If you want to attend a Rapids game, ticket cost is VIP $32, Premium $27, Corner Flag $22, Endline $17. Keep your eye out for the Rapids mascots, a bald eagle, a bison, a raccoon, and a fox, who were readily available for conversation and pictures. Plus, there was a Moose running around and happily posed for the camera and chatted with the kids.

Thank you EventChaser for the great soccer tickets and such a FUN evening!