World Arena

The Broadmoor World Arena.

Teresa Drew, Broadmoor World Arena

The Broadmoor World Arena will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. As the largest indoor entertainment venue in the region, many residents and tourists have settled into its purple seats to take in a Colorado…

The Broadmoor World Arena will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. As the largest indoor entertainment venue in the region, many residents and tourists have settled into its purple seats to take in a Colorado College hockey game, arena rock concert or even a local graduation ceremony.

But there’s more to the well-known World Arena than most neighbors realize.

In advance of the anniversary and an exciting summer of events, I sat down with Teresa Drew, the World Arena’s Director of Marketing, for a behind-the-scenes tour and to learn more about this local treasure.

Our tour was broadcast live via Facebook, so you can access the video at tinyurl.com/my9rsqe. You can see the beautiful Penrose Club, dressing rooms and artist entrances and a parked zamboni!

“A lot of people do not realize that the World Arena is actually a nonprofit with tons of community involvement,” Drew said.

The Broadmoor World Arena Youth and Community Assistance Fund supports nonprofit use of The Broadmoor World Arena, the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts and the Ice Hall. It also matches its support with complimentary tickets for senior citizen groups, disadvantaged youth organizations, military and additional worthy community groups to attend cultural and sporting activities. You might also see concession stands at some events being run by local nonprofit organizations.

The arena also has an economic influence on the community.

“One impact that a lot of people don’t think about is employment,” Drew said. “We have about 30 full-time staff and 250 part-time staff, and we always have opportunities for part-time ushers, parking attendants and more. This is a great place to find part-time work.”

The World Arena’s staff also manages the Pikes Peak Center in downtown Colorado Springs, which is owned by El Paso County.

“We help the county by leveraging our experienced staff and sharing resources — like technology — between the two venues,” Drew said.

During our tour, I observed the collegial warmth between the staff as they move throughout the vast arena complex. The space might be big, but the staff is friendly and personal. That personal touch is evident in the feedback that World Arena invites from their audiences, too.

“We listen,” Drew said with a smile. “We survey after every concert and we really make decisions based on that feedback. We are always trying to improve the experience of our guests, and that’s part of why I like working here.”

One example of that focus on the ticket-holder experience is pre-show patio receptions now offered at the Pikes Peak Center. Guests asked for more social opportunities adjacent to shows and expressed positive reviews of the outdoor patio, so staff developed a new way for ticket holders to enjoy pre-show cocktails under the stars.

Drew shared a few insider tips for ticket-buyers:

1. Share your email address when you buy your tickets, because World Arena will send you a “Know Before You Go” message full of great information like detailed directions, concessions and photography info specific to your event, answers to commonly asked questions and more.

2. The World Arena and Pikes Peak Center recently moved to a unified ticketing system between both venues, so visit whatever box office is most convenient for you to purchase tickets to any event.

3. Make sure you are on broadmoorworldarena.com or pikespeakcenter.com when buying tickets. There are a lot of false sites out there that look like the arena, but are ticket brokers.

What summer event would Drew recommend to Cheyenne Edition readers?

“Replay America, The Ultimate 80’s Festival” on Aug. 16, featuring Billy Ocean, Starship, Taylor Dane and more! All the retro details are at peakradar.com.

“One thing I love about entertainment is that the music at a concert or a show can bring amazing memories back and emotions for people,” Drew said. “That’s part of why I love this work.”

Originally written by Angela Seals of the Cultural Office and published in the Cheyenne Edition in June 2017.