Piledrivers and body slams take down the house at 1stBANK Center's last hurrah before the venue folds
Sep. 29—Residents from across the Front Range donned their wrestling masks and extraordinarily large belts to celebrate the final show at Broomfield's 1stBANK Center for All Elite Wrestling's Dynamite and Rampage event.
AEW, known for its passionate fans and wild professional wrestling performances, delivered on the promise to put on a great show at Wednesday's event. From pyrotechnics, flying sparks and no small amount of dramatic fights, the event made for an exciting sendoff for Broomfield's largest event center.
In May, Broomfield City Council voted unanimously to end the management and operations contract for the building, after years of "underperformance and underutilization," according to city staff's presentation at the May 23 meeting.
The center was built to host 180 to 190 events per year, according to the presentation, but peaked in 2016 when only 33 events were held. In addition to its underutilization, the event center has proved to be a strain on the local police department and emergency services, city staff said. Since 2016, there have been 738 medical calls to the event center.
The building is owned by the Broomfield Urban Renewal Authority (BURA) and was constructed for $45 million, financed by bonds. By the time BURA pays off the event center bond, it will have paid approximately $135 million.
For wrestling fan and spectator Mike Guild, nothing could be a better swan song for the 1stBANK Center than AEW.
"AEW is the best live show in the world... I've been a wrestling fan my whole life and AEW is the most fun, inclusive and entertaining form of wrestling there is," Guild said.
"I was excited when I heard this was going to be the last show here, because with wrestling you have no idea what you're going to see," Guild said. "So I was hoping they would strike a deal where they would let them do something catastrophic to the building to start tearing it down."
There was no wrecking ball involved in Wednesday's show, but there was still plenty of action, complete with steel chairs and suplexes. And, despite the closure of the center, AEW said there would still be plenty of future opportunities for wrestling fans on the Front Range to see live shows.
"We've been looking at opportunities at the Ball Arena for shows, and we have the weekly TV shows Wednesday and Saturday," said Rafael Morffi, the vice president of live events and touring for AEW.
"We've also played down in Colorado Springs. There's plenty of venues in the marketplace.
"The 1stBANK Center has been great to work with...great leaders with a first-class facility," Morffi added. "We're excited we got to send the arena off in fine fashion. And I guarantee we always put on a good show."
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Fans line up outside the 1stBank Center, waiting for the...
Fans line up outside the 1stBank Center, waiting for the gates to open on Sept. 27, 2023. The All Elite Wrestling event was the last event ever for the center. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
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Wrestling fans react to the action in the ring on...
Wrestling fans react to the action in the ring on Wednesday at All Elite Wrestling's pro wrestling event at the 1stBank Center. Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
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Wrestling fans packed the 1stBank Center on Wednesday to catch...
Wrestling fans packed the 1stBank Center on Wednesday to catch the action in the ring for an All Elite Wrestling event. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
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Concession workers fill customer orders for the final event ever...
Concession workers fill customer orders for the final event ever at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield.(Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
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The All Elite Wrestling pro wrestling event was the last...
The All Elite Wrestling pro wrestling event was the last event to be held at the 1stBank Center. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
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