DENVER — Early Tuesday morning, Sportsfan stores across the Denver metro area were quick to bring in brand new Colorado Avalanche merchandise after the team won the Western Conference Finals and punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The speed at which the merchandise was brought into the store was equal to the number of eager customers.
“Dropped at Park Meadows, open the box, and husband and wife are like, "Can we have one of those each?"" said Andrew Solsbery, regional manager of Sportsfan. "So we're selling it out of the boxes."
That same excitement can be felt across the city.
“This is a huge deal for Denver because not only are the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup, but Denver is a sports town. We love our sports teams,” said Kate Barton, executive vice president of the Downtown Denver Partnership.
Barton says fans will have to wait to hear about the events and celebrations the city is planning.
“I don't think we can talk about it because we don't want to jinx it, but I will just remind folks when the Broncos won the Super Bowl, this town was electric,” said Barton.
Matthew Payne with the Denver Sports Commission, an affiliate of Visit Denver, confirms those conversations have begun.
“The news is still fresh off of last night's win, but I know that there has been discussions, kind of, at the city level about some of the activities that could take place for people here, locally, and all the Avs fans,” said Payne.
Few have been closer to the Avs' every move than sport talk host Darren “DMac” Mckee, who flew back from Edmonton fresh off the win Tuesday morning.
“I was around when they last won the cup, you know, over 20 years ago, and there's a certain sense of pride with hockey fans in the hockey community,” said McKee.
McKee believes the celebrations from two decades ago could repeat themselves. If they do, it’ll serve as a massive win for the Avs and the city.
“In general, it was just a massive amount of joy and celebration. And so that's what I anticipate with this, too ... because I think good things are coming,” said McKee.
Denver7 did some investigating, in case you were thinking about going to a game. As of now, the cheapest ticket is around $900. The most expensive will run you several thousand dollars.