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Infinity Park
Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado, has to be experienced to be believed.
You’re probably read that this is the only rugby stadium funded by a municipality in the USA. (Just for perspective – almost every stadium in which professional sports are played in this country was built by public dollars.) But what strikes the first-time visitor is the degree to which this is apparent on-site: City Hall is adjacent to the pitch. The tunnel that the teams run out of leads from the basement of that building. Meals, water and sunblock for the refs were available in the city council meeting chambers/courtroom.
We’ve been rightfully proud – even boastful in these pages – of the rugby facilities built in Northern California over the past couple of decades. Now Glendale and the Eastern Rockies have a wonderful, fully-realized rugby complex to help raise the level of USA rugby another notch.
Your photographer could not talk his way onto the roof of city hall, which would have given a full-field perspective. This photo shows several features of the place.
Note the large video screen in the scoreboard – the area showing the USA Rugby logo in the photo. There are five permanent camera placements and yes, they re-run plays from all the angles. When the ref hears a collective groan a little while after a controversial call he knows he got it wrong!
A neat feature of the pitch is the berm which you can see alongside. This does several things: it discourages people from standing along the touchline, it serves to elevate the first row of seating, and it acts as a highly-efficient ball-returner, facilitating quick throw-ins.
The far side of the field has the same type of seating running the entire length, with a restaurant/bar centerfield, and under construction is a building that will contain meeting rooms and changing rooms.
The end from which the photo was taken is City Hall. There is a terrace with shops
Land has been acquired to put in a second pitch across the street, which can be used as a warm-up field or for tournaments. There is even talk of keeping one of a series of apartment buildings that now occupy that land as a dormitory for visiting teams/player assemblies/extended national team camps/etc.
If you are going to be in Denver, make it a point to stop by Infinity Park in Glendale. If you can get there for rugby, even better!
Infinity Park
Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado, has to be experienced to be believed.
You’re probably read that this is the only rugby stadium funded by a municipality in the USA. (Just for perspective – almost every stadium in which professional sports are played in this country was built by public dollars.) But what strikes the first-time visitor is the degree to which this is apparent on-site: City Hall is adjacent to the pitch. The tunnel that the teams run out of leads from the basement of that building. Meals, water and sunblock for the refs were available in the city council meeting chambers/courtroom.
We’ve been rightfully proud – even boastful in these pages – of the rugby facilities built in Northern California over the past couple of decades. Now Glendale and the Eastern Rockies have a wonderful, fully-realized rugby complex to help raise the level of USA rugby another notch.
Your photographer could not talk his way onto the roof of city hall, which would have given a full-field perspective. This photo shows several features of the place.
Note the large video screen in the scoreboard – the area showing the USA Rugby logo in the photo. There are five permanent camera placements and yes, they re-run plays from all the angles. When the ref hears a collective groan a little while after a controversial call he knows he got it wrong!
A neat feature of the pitch is the berm which you can see alongside. This does several things: it discourages people from standing along the touchline, it serves to elevate the first row of seating, and it acts as a highly-efficient ball-returner, facilitating quick throw-ins.
The far side of the field has the same type of seating running the entire length, with a restaurant/bar centerfield, and under construction is a building that will contain meeting rooms and changing rooms.
The end from which the photo was taken is City Hall. There is a terrace with shops
Land has been acquired to put in a second pitch across the street, which can be used as a warm-up field or for tournaments. There is even talk of keeping one of a series of apartment buildings that now occupy that land as a dormitory for visiting teams/player assemblies/extended national team camps/etc.
If you are going to be in Denver, make it a point to stop by Infinity Park in Glendale. If you can get there for rugby, even better!