Wider concourses, new clubs and a glass façade: Ball Arena’s $135M glow-up is coming

If you were holding out hope that Denver would eventually get a shiny new arena to replace Ball Arena, Friday’s announcement from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment makes it pretty clear: this is the arena we’ve got, and it’s not going anywhere. KSE unveiled a $135 million renovation plan for the downtown home of the Nuggets, Avalanche and Mammoth that will completely overhaul the fan experience, and lock the building in as Denver’s premier indoor venue for at least “another 25 years and beyond,” in the words of owner Stan Kroenke himself.

The biggest visible change will hit the East Atrium, the side of the arena that faces downtown. KSE plans to blow out that entrance with an expansive glass façade, new escalators, a brand-new team shop and a jump from eight entrance doors to 20. If you’ve ever been shoulder-to-shoulder in a Ball Arena concourse trying to get a beer before puck drop, this part is for you, the company says it will widen ingress, egress and concourses in the busiest areas and upgrade point-of-sale technology throughout the building to shorten wait times. Three new premium clubs are also part of the project, including one with direct access to reserved 100-level seating.

The work will be done in phases to keep the arena operational through it all, with full completion expected in time for the 2028-29 Nuggets and Avalanche seasons. KSE submitted the required Site Development Plan to the City of Denver on Friday. This comes on top of suite upgrades to the 24 Legacy (100-level) and Signature (200-level) suites that were already announced separately and should be ready for the 2026-27 season, which tips off Oct. 24 for the Nuggets and Sept. 30 for the Avs.

But the arena renovation is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. KSE’s 55-acre property surrounding Ball Arena is slated for a full entertainment district that could eventually include a hotel, a mid-size entertainment venue, a central park, shopping, restaurants and residential and office towers. Think of it as Denver’s answer to LA Live or the Kansas City Power & Light District, a whole neighborhood built around the arena experience. Updates on the broader development will be posted at KSEArenaDistrict.com.

Love it or hate it, this is the reality: Denver isn’t getting a new arena. What it’s getting is $135 million worth of reasons to stop complaining about the one it has. Stan Kroenke bought the Nuggets, Avs and the building (then called Pepsi Center) back in 2000. Twenty-six years later, he’s doubling down on the same downtown footprint rather than starting from scratch. For fans who’ve battled those cramped concourses and maddeningly slow concession lines for years, 2028 can’t come fast enough.