COLORADO SPRINGS — For the first time in school history, the Colorado College Tiger hockey team will be playing their season on campus, and bringing that home-field-advantage-feel to the campus community.
They'll be playing at the Ed Robson Arena, the newest building on Colorado College's campus. The Tiger's season gets underway tonight.
The building is a 120,000 sq. ft. facility that broke ground in February 2020. Rick Greene, the senior project manager for the college says it was built for watching hockey and has just over 3,400 seats.
"It is the steepest rink, as far as the seating, that you can go by code. So you're absolutely going to have nobody in your way. There's not a bad seat in this house," said Greene, who also mentioned because of the arena's design, games will be more intimate and louder. "The sound in this building compared to where we played before (The Broadmoor World Arena) was pretty quiet, this place, it may be a little loud for some folks."
Before sitting in the stands, fans can also read about Tigers who've competed in the Olympics.
"We have the Olympic hall way downstairs with Peggy Flemming on there and Mike Testwuide who played for Korea in the Olympics," said Greene.
For the players and athletes touring the school, the facility, the locker room, and workout areas are also branded which helps with recruiting.
"The players get to see how many players played in the National Hockey League, how many guys were drafted, how many games they played, and the All Americans in the sport."
Now that the arena is finished and open for games, one student on campus is looking forward to being in the stands.
"I'm super excited to have it on campus. They're building it all last year and it's super cool to finally see it done," said Adley Vogel, a Colorado College sophomore. "It's super great to have a focus for school spirit, it's going to be amazing, to have all my friends and classmates packed in the same building, cheering for our team."
Events and concerts can also be held at the arena. If you do plan going to a game or an event, you'll need to show proof of your COVID-19 vaccine or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours. Guests are also required to wear masks while seated unless you're eating or drinking.
The team used to play at the Broadmoor World Arena, and the Robson Arena has fewer seats and tickets available. If you'd like to go to a game, it's recommended you buy your tickets ahead of time or become a season ticket holder. A parking garage attached to the facility also have more than 320 spots available.
