The question of whether Denver Roller Dolls fans would follow their derby league to Broomfield has been answered with a resounding, "Hell yes!" The Dolls report that a record 4,429 fans attended the league's first bout of the season last Saturday at the newly revamped, 6,500-seat 1st Bank Center in Broomfield.
The 1st Bank Center is more than three times the size of the Dolls' previous venue, the downtown Denver Fillmore Auditorium (which is where the Dolls' cross-town rivals, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, are bouting this year). But it's also at least a fifteen minute drive from the Mile High City. Plus, it costs $10 to park there, a fact that caught some fans off-guard, as evidenced in comments left on the Dolls' Facebook page.
But Dolls' spokeswoman Andrea "Kendra Blood" Hill says relief could be coming soon. "We understand that parking was a concern for folks who were caught unaware," she wrote in an e-mail. "We will actually be contacting our season ticket holders within the next ten days to work with them to offer them discounted, VIP parking for the remaining bouts of the season." Plus, she says, plans for an RTD park-and-ride to be built across from the venue in late spring or early summer should alleviate some of the sting.
The Dolls' next bout will be April 17 at 7 p.m. at the 1st Bank Center. Like last Saturday's matchup, it's a "round-robin" between the league's three home teams, each of which won a single bout last time. Will the Dolls break another attendance record? Stay tuned.
