Sports in Colorado

Main article: Colorado

Professional sports teams

The Colorado Rockies National League baseball club at Coors Field in Denver.

Sports Authority Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos National Football League club and the Denver Outlaws Major League Lacrosse club.

Pepsi Center in Denver, home of the Denver Nuggets National Basketball Association club, the Colorado Avalanche National Hockey League club, and the Colorado Mammoth National Lacrosse League club.

Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, home of the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer club.

Colorado is the least populous state with a franchise in each of the major professional sports leagues. The state is able to support the teams because it contains a large metropolitan area with a higher population than any other city within 550 miles (885 km). Therefore, many of the residents in the surrounding states support the teams in Denver, as shown by the reach of the Broncos' radio network.

Club	Home	First game	Sport	League
Denver Broncos	Denver	September 9, 1960	Football	National Football League
Denver Barbarians	Denver	Spring 1967	Rugby Union	Rugby Super League
Denver Nuggets	Denver	September 27, 1967	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Colorado Springs Sky Sox	Colorado Springs	June 18, 1988	Baseball	Minor League Baseball (AAA)
Colorado Rockies	Denver	April 5, 1993	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Colorado Avalanche	Denver	October 6, 1995	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
Colorado Rapids	Commerce City	April 13, 1996	Soccer	Major League Soccer
Colorado Mammoth	Denver	January 3, 2003	Lacrosse	National Lacrosse League
Colorado Eagles	Loveland	October 17, 2003	Ice hockey	ECHL
Denver Outlaws	Denver	May 20, 2006	Lacrosse	Major League Lacrosse

Former professional sports teams

Club	Sport	League
Aurora Cavalry	Basketball	International Basketball League
Colorado 14ers (won championship in their final season of 2008–09; moved to Frisco, Texas and will resume play in 2010–11 as the Texas Legends)	Basketball	NBA Development League
Colorado Chill (folded along with the NWBL)	Basketball	National Women's Basketball League
Colorado Crossover	Basketball	International Basketball League
Colorado Crush (suspended operations with the AFL, and did not return when a new AFL was formed)	Arena football	Arena Football League
Colorado Rapids U23's	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
Colorado Rockies (NHL) (moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey and became the New Jersey Devils)	Ice Hockey	National Hockey League
Colorado Xplosion (won the Western Conference Championship in inaugural season)	Women's Basketball	American Basketball League (1996-1998)
Colorado Springs Blizzard	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
Denver Grizzlies (moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, later moved to Cleveland, Ohio and became the Lake Erie Monsters)	Ice Hockey	International Hockey League (1945-2001)
Denver Spurs (moved to Ottawa, Ontario and became the Ottawa Civics for the rest of the team's existence)	Ice Hockey	World Hockey Association/Central Hockey League/Western Hockey League
Denver Dynamite (Inaugural AFL member; folded after four seasons)	Arena Football	Arena Football League
Denver Gold (United States Football League member, 1983–1985)	Football	United States Football League
Denver Bears/Denver Zephyrs (moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and became the New Orleans Zephyrs)	Baseball	American Association/Pacific Coast League
Denver Racquets 1974 Champions (moved to Phoenix 1975)	Tennis	World Team Tennis
Rocky Mountain Rage	Ice hockey	Central Hockey League

College athletics

Main article: List of college athletic programs in Colorado