Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen is hoping for a repeat of 1996 on Friday night — the result, not the celebration afterward.
“The positive experience of a win can quickly become negative when celebrations turn to destruction,” Pazen said on the eve of the Colorado Avalanche’s potential title-clinching hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lighting on Friday at Ball Arena. “Fans are asked to celebrate in a controlled manner and not tarnish the team’s accomplishments with illegal acts.”
Nick Moore and a packed house in Ball Arena celebrate as the Avalanche takes a 2-0 lead against the Lightning during the first period of Game 1.
On June 10, 1996, Colorado secured its first major sports championship when the Avalanche swept the Florida Panthers in a triple-overtime thriller. And police were caught largely unprepared for what happened next.
There were all sorts of reasons to believe the night would pass without incident. The city was still just getting to know the team, which was in its first year after moving here from Quebec. Hockey was a largely unknown sport, and there was even some open resentment for the new kids in town who won it all so quickly when the city’s beloved Broncos had suffered through 26 years of NFL futility.
Because of the three overtime periods, the deciding game didn’t even end until close to midnight on a Monday night. And because the game was played in Miami, the only official gathering party in Denver was the 14,000 or so watching on the big screen at McNichols Sports Arena, all the way on the other side of I-25.
Still, about 50,000 title-starved fans flooded the streets of lower downtown in the early hours of Tuesday morning, many hoisting brooms marking the team’s sweep of the Panthers in four games. Revelers climbed both trees and streetlights. Fans in sports bars were seen dancing on tables and pouring beer on each other's heads. Outside, traffic reached total gridlock near Larimer Street from 17th to 14th streets. Some drivers got out and stood on top of their cars, dancing to blaring stereos.
Media reports described the crowd as “a herd of mad cows” and the scene as devolving “into a sewer of madness.”
The Denver Post had pre-printed special commemorative sections proclaiming the Avs’ championship, which hawkers handed out to passersby along Blake Street, home of the brand-new Coors Field.
By 1:30 a.m., long after most of the good-natured fans had gone home, the scene changed from revelry to dangerous. By many eyewitness accounts, the crowd had been infiltrated by instigators taking advantage of the opportunity to simply do damage. Others say the night turned ugly when the police got overly aggressive.
A crowd of about 500 at 15th and Larimer streets was stopping cars and trying to turn them over. Others tried to tear down traffic signals, road signs and trees, The Post reported. Some got hold of entire bundles of those Denver Post special sections and set them on fire in the middle of the street. Many of those abandoned brooms were dipped in flames and waved into the night air. Windows were broken on cars and shops, although no looting was reported. Four people were hospitalized. The police responded with tear gas and pepper spray.
“It looked like a scene right out of ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ” said Billy Thieme of Denver. “You had smoke, flesh and fires. People were running from the police with both gigantic grins on their faces and terrified grimaces.”
At about 4 a.m., someone picked up a newspaper box and threw it through the window of the Subway restaurant on the 16th Street Mall at Champa Street. Six 12-by-15-foot windows were shattered at the Joslins department store a block away.
Denver police had 100 officers on scene at the time — on horses, on foot, atop news vans and in squad cars. According to The Post, police arrested 20 people that night, primarily for misdemeanors ranging from disturbance to destruction of property and interference.
In 2001, there were again reports of overturned vehicles, broken glass, flying rocks, street bonfires and pepper-sprayed bystanders after the Avs won Game 7 of a nail-biting series with the New Jersey Devils. “Denver always weeps after big games. We can't help ourselves,” Mark Kiszla wrote for The Post at the time. “Maybe it's the tear gas in our eyes.”
Pazen, who was in his first year as a Denver cop in 1996, is determined not to let history repeat itself (again). In the hours leading up to this latest possible series-clinching victory on Friday night, he has one message to all would-be revelers: Stay classy, Denver.
“Let’s all act like we’ve been there before — because we have,” he said.
And we have. The Avs have now won two Stanley Cups and the Denver Broncos have won three Super Bowls, most recently in 2016. So Pazen has that going for him. Along with certain tactical lessons learned from past celebrations: Keep the crowd off of poles. Keep traffic moving. Don’t let the party go on till 4 a.m. And maybe ask The Denver Post not to bring bundles of newspapers down to the mall.
Here’s what’s working against him: This potential series-clinching game is being held in Denver, which means there will be 40,000 people already massed downtown between Ball Arena, Auraria and McGregor Square near Coors Field. It’s happening on a Friday night. And the Denver Police Department, like many others around the country, is short-staffed.
For security reasons, Pazen isn’t giving up many details of the Denver Police Department’s strategy for ensuring a safe and healthy celebration, other than to say that much research and training have gone into planning “how we can do the best job possible to keep our community safe," he said.
He did say there will be a significant police presence in the downtown area into the early hours of Saturday morning, and that “residents of downtown may have limited access due to potential road closures.”
He urged fans to celebrate responsibly, to be mindful of their belongings, to remain vigilant, to be aware of ticket-scammers and to report any suspicious activity by calling 720-913-2000 or 911. That is, regrettably, one additional concern in the era following 9/11. He also advised the utilization of mass transit, carpools, rideshares, bicycles or feet to get to the game, and for drivers to allow for extra time to arrive and park.
The Colorado State Patrol issued a joint statement with Mothers Against Drunk Driving urging fans to plan ahead for a safe ride home, and that increased summer DUI enforcement efforts are underway. CSP data shows suspected impairment fatalities in Colorado have increased 20% from Jan. 1 through April 30 compared to the same period in 2021.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, meanwhile, has declared Friday to be “Burgundy & Blue Friday” in Denver, and encouraged residents to wear the Avs’ colors to work.
Although Pazen declined (twice) to say whether he was on duty on the nights of the Avs’ two previous title celebrations, he did say: “We will do everything possible with our local, state and federal partners to help our community celebrate hopefully a Colorado Avalanche win on Friday night and bring that Cup home where it belongs.”
The Avs celebrate the 5th goal of the game during the second period of game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena on Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
