From the start, the announcement for the creation of the new Edward J. Robson Arena has generated a significant amount of buzz. For those on campus, it felt quite ominous — there had been rumors since last year about plans surrounding the demolition of specific buildings on the Colorado College campus, including rhe CC Inn, Campus Safety offices, and Wooglin’s Deli.
As more detailed plans began to surface regarding the arena, CC hosted various public meetings and forums to answer any questions students, staff, or the public might have. One question remained consistent — where will all of the attendees park? The campus already struggles with adequate parking, as many students are denied access to on-campus parking lots and forced to park on the street. The college estimates that the arena will be able to house up to 3,650 attendees. With current infrastructure, there is simply not enough space to host these extra vehicles.
On March 11, the Robson Arena Design Project Team released a news report addressing the problem of parking, both for event days at the arena and more generally for the CC community. A revision of these plans, approved by the CC Board of Trustees, will move the arena site to the northern part of the block between Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street, and Cache la Poudre and Dale Streets, as reported by The Gazette. The report also contains a redesign of several parts of campus to add both parking garages and lots.
South of the arena, there will now be a large parking garage with a capacity for up to 350 cars. Additionally, the report notes a proposed removal of the Burghart Tennis Courts, located near El Pomar Sports Center, to build another parking lot.
Colorado College is also working with owners of private lots near campus and would plan to provide shuttles from these auxiliary parking areas to the Robson Arena. Rideshare, bicycles, and walking to the arena will play for students on campus. The report estimates that over 500 students will attend events hosted at the arena, and that the majority of these students will not drive.
In total, the creation of these lots and garages, along with the coordination with outside lots surrounding campus, will be able to accommodate parking for the arena even when at capacity of over 3,500 attendees maximum. Colorado College is continuing its engagement with the community about the arena, hosting various public meetings. The news report concludes that although these plans to begin construction in late 2019 have been approved, “The presentation will by no means be a final plan as Colorado College and the arena project team continues to encourage and obtain additional community input and feedback to make this project the very best it can be for the community, neighborhoods, students, faculty, college staff, students, and CC Tigers hockey fans and players.”