As the United States plays Canada in the Four Nations Championship and Colorado College Tiger Hockey prepares to host the Denver University’s Hockey team for their final game of the season it is hard not to reminisce about the old Broadmoor World Arena.

Originally an outdoor equestrian center and riding academy, the building was enclosed and converted into an ice arena which opened in January 1938. It was the original home of the Colorado College Tigers hockey team, as well as the Broadmoor Skating Club, a major force in figure skating.

In its time, The World Arena Ice Hall was one of the finest training facilities in the world. The Broadmoor World Arena was a pioneering skating rink and hockey arena. The complex was home to dozens of world-class figure skaters and coaches, The Broadmoor Skating Club, Colorado Gold Speedskating Club, The Broadmoor Curling Club, and numerous youths, high school, and adult hockey leagues.

The building served as the first home of the NCAA Hockey Championships, which it hosted for the first ten years of its existence (1948-1957) and once more, in 1969. The arena served as host to the 1962 World Championship. It also hosted the World Figure Skating Championships five times between 1957 and 1975.

With wooden seats, red aisle carpeting and wildlife paintings on the walls, the arena had an intimate atmosphere that reflected its lakeside, resort hotel setting. It was the primary arena setting in the 1970s movie Ice Castles.

In 1993, the Broadmoor announced that it would be closing the arena to make room for a $27 million expansion of the resort. It closed in March 1994. The last major event held at the arena was the 1994 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. There is a
memorial on the grounds of the hotel to the members of the 1961 US Figure Skating team, all of whom perished in the crash of their flight to the 1961 championships near Brussels, Belgium. Many of them had trained at the Broadmoor.

Broadmoor Properties Real Estate Brokers Michael Raedel and Tim Sheridan have fond memories of watching and playing hockey at the Broadmoor World Arena. “We walk by the site of the old World Arena often and we are filled with great memories”, they reflect. “I grew up watching the CC Tigers, playing High School hockey and later coaching my oldest son at the arena before it was torn down, what great memories reflects Michael Raedel”. “One of my greatest memories was watching the 1980 Olympic Team train and play games against NHL teams and the U.S.S.R before going to the Olympics and winning Gold! I met Bobby Orr at the rink, says Tim Sheridan.