Colorado Rapids Tickets
One of the original 10 teams of the MLS, the Colorado Rapids have had consistent amounts of success throughout their tenure. The team, based out of Commerce City, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, has always been in the middle of the pack in the MLS standings. The team plays its home games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, having originally played at Mile High Stadium, followed by Invesco Field at Mile High, before moving to their current location. With a capacity of 18,086 people, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is the second smallest in the MLS.
The team had a rocky introduction to the MLS, finishing in last place in the inaugural year of the league. The following year, the team made a variety of both managerial and roster shakeups, which led to a berth in the 1997 MLS Cup final. After varied amounts of success for the rest of the decade, which included more playoff berths and a trip to the US Open Cup final in 1999, the team forged ahead in the new millennia, aggressively signing new players in an effort to recapture the success of 1997’s team. 2002 and 2003 were banner years for the team as they reached new levels of success, both attendance and success wise. The team was able to average more than 20,000 fans during this stretch, as well as tallying a 16 game home undefeated streak, followed up with another 11 games after a loss to Kansas City.
Since the team’s move to their own stadium, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the team has enjoyed varied amounts of success, beginning with multiple years in a row without a playoff berth. It took until 2010 for the Rapids to put all of the pieces together, winning their first MLS Cup, which was also the team’s first major trophy in team history.
When Real Salt Lake was created in 2005, they became the second team in the Rocky Mountains, and thus, became the Rapids geographic rival. The two teams created the Rocky Mountain Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the team’s games against one another in league play.
The 2011 MLS season was an up-and-down year for the team. Coming off the MLS Cup championship from the year prior, the team regressed considerably, finishing in sixth overall, and fifth in the conference. Goalkeeper Matt Pickens had yet another standout season for the team ranked ninth in goals against average and eighth in saves. Sanna Nyassi was named Player of the Week in week 19.
