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A Whale of a Good Time

Official Review by Rich Kurtzman, Stadium Journey Regional Correspondent

Moby Arena, originally constructed in 1966, has hosted Colorado State sporting events for more than 45 years.

The stadium has hosted men's basketball since its construction, women's basketball since 1974 and volleyball crowds have ranked nationally as some of the largest for decades.

The exterior, designed to look like a whale, has smooth flowing lines that contrast well with the jagged Rocky Mountains in the background.

Moby is quaint; it has a small town feel and is definitely old school.

When walking up to the main entrance on the north side of the building, the glass facade gives fans a glimpse into the arena concourse. The concourse is tiny, as one can see from one side to the other and there are bathrooms and concession stands on either side.

In the middle, next to the ticket office, a scoreboard hangs from the ceiling and updates fans of scores as they arrive.

Once inside the seating area, the visually interesting ram horns that span the hardwood, and the ones rolling their way up the four corners of the arena add a bit of uniqueness to Moby.

In the last 10 years there have been two major renovations that have upgraded Moby and kept it from becoming obsolete compared to other contemporary arenas. In 2000-2001, the distinctive ram horns were incorporated into the brand new hardwood floor, and the $1 million video board was added in September 2010.

Food & Beverage    1

The food and drink is minimalistic at best.

There are pretzels (with or without cheese for an extra fee), small and large Pepsi products, hot dogs and popcorn.

Unfortunately, Moby does not serve alcohol and it's better to plan on eating before or after a game since their selection is so slim.

Atmosphere    4

The student section is OK but it's nothing compared to the powerhouse schools like Duke or UNC, and it doesn't even rival that of CU's in Boulder, Colorado. Unless of course, the team is competing as they have been during this 2010-11 season.

Most of the cheering comes from the students and they are pushed on by the band. And recently, Fort Collins sold out Moby Arena for the first time in eight years as they took on then No. 4 BYU in January. A week later, the Rams played Air Force and it was definitely a more raucous atmosphere as the fans' roar affected the Falcons play to be sure.

Overall, Moby's atmosphere is family friendly as fathers and daughters, mothers and sons were all seen having a fun night out on the town with their Rams.

There's a good mix of students and families from Fort Collins, giving Moby Arena that "small town" feel.

Neighborhood    4

Moby Arena is located on the northwest corner of CSU's campus, close to many dorms and a unique shopping district.

Just across the street from Moby is the "Campus West" neighborhood that is full of a multitude of local shops, restaurants and bars.

If you're in a hurry, there are two mainstream fast food restaurants on the northwest and southwest corners of Shields and Elizabeth in Subway and Qdoba.

If you're looking for something more unique, try CB & Potts Restaurant and Brewery, Hot Wok Cafe or Road 34. Hot Wok offers reasonable priced Chinese cuisine, Road 34 has wonderful sandwiches and homemade potato chips while CB & Potts has American fare (including great burgers!).

For pre or postgame drinks, Road 34 always offers $1 Coors draught pints, CB & Potts has their five brews flowing and Mo Jeauxs' is a fun spot with 14 beers on tap.

The great part about it is that all of these establishments are within a block of the stadium, just west on Elizabeth Street and within walking distance of the game.

Fans    4

Early in the season, the fans of CSU Basketball weren't an overwhelming mass, they sprinkled the sidelines and seats throughout Moby. But, as the Rams started making noise and moving up the rankings for the first time in four years, the fans returned to Moby Arena.

The student section, located behind both baskets, with the majority behind the east side, was sparsely filled the first game I attended, and there were about twice as many in the next game, three days later. But in January, the student section was sold out for BYU (first all-stadium sell-out in eight years) and prominently packed for Air Force and SDSU a week later.

The student section has some cheering traditions, including complete silence during a CSU free throw and the entire arena stands until the first bucket is made. While the band is playing, a handful of die-hard supporters scream along with the band, which is located in close proximity to the student section.

Against Air Force, the Rams found themselves down eight points early in the second half when the Moby Maniacs screamed constantly, forced the Falcons into turnovers and pushed the Rams to a 13-0 run and eventually the win.

The rest of the arena, where families, alumni and incoming recruits sat were subdued for much of the contest, but they did come alive at times and loud roars when they were led by the students first.

(When Volleyball plays, which is CSU's best sport, Moby is almost always packed and boasts the No. 2 most-attended stadium in the NCAA in 2010. Their all-time record largest crowd came in 2010, against Duke - there were 6,333 Moby Maniacs rooting on their Rams.)

Access    3

Moby is centrally located in Fort Collins, on the corner of Shields and Elizabeth Streets, making it easy to find and access from anywhere in town.

The large parking lot to the west of Moby accommodates hundreds of cars (it usually doesn't fill to capacity) and you can park there for only $5. Or, if free parking is more your style, continue north on Shields past the stadium for one block, turn east on Laurel Street and find a spot in the neighborhood for a few minute walk to Moby.

Return on Investment    3

While there's nothing too "special" about Moby Arena, the tickets ($12 for an adult) are very reasonable.

Kids seats are discounted, parking is cheap (or free!) and an entire family can go to a Rams game for around $50, a great deal these days.

Extras    5

Each game, CSU pulls students from the crowd to compete in a free throw competition for prizes.

There's also a contest where one lucky fan goes onto the court and follows one ball as it is mixed around with two others. If they guess correctly, they win 20 free burritos from Qdoba for themselves and 19 friends.

Colorado State mascot Cam the Ram walks around the stands, entertains and mingles with students.

Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State University Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for Stadium Journey, Kurtzman is the Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos Featured Columnist for bleacherreport.com and the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner for examiner.com, as well as a weekly contributor to Mile High Hoops.

You can follow Rich on Facebook or on twitter.

BYU basketball in 1970

In February of 1970 BYU came to Moby for a basketball game. I went to watch the
BYU cheer leaders because we were unlikely to win the game and at that time they were spectacular. BYU and the Mormons were under a great deal of pressure by the black students because of discrimination of African Americans in the Mormon Priesthood. There had recently been a protest in Laramie and BYU had been uninivited by the administration to attend any athletic events at Stanford. There were fights between black "students" and Fort Collins Police, not the campus cops, before the game. During the game there was a demonstration, during which a lighted molotov cocktail was thrown on the court. The game was delayed for a long tense period but was eventually completed , I believe. I think CSU lost but the game was not the memorable event

by veterinario | Dec 17, 2010 03:08 PM

RE: BYU basketball in 1970

Veterinario,

Wow, this is an AMAZING story!

I know there were protests and demonstrations on CSU's campus in the 70s (the students burned down Old Main, the oldest building on campus in a Vietnam protest in 1970) but I had never heard of this!

Thank you very much for your comment, a great bit of history added onto the review.

Cheers

by richkurt | Dec 20, 2010 05:55 AM

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