RamWire: Canvas Stadium celebrates 500th event

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The temperatures soared into the mid-90s, the perfect day – some might say – to kick back, pour a cold brew and relax. Visit with friends.

Which is what the organizers of the Colorado Brewer's Festival hoped folks would do. Those pouring what they had crafted, and the visitors tasting their work, were more than happy to do so inside Canvas Stadium, where no one missed the beating sun or waiting in line for a Porta-Potty.

The festival, which began back in 1990, has planted roots in the city at Old Town and other outdoor venues. This past weekend, it set up shop inside Canvas Stadium, serving as the 500^th event held at the multi-purpose facility.

James Yearling, the deputy director of the Downtown Business Association, expected the venue to be the perfect host, and after two sold-out days, he was not disappointed.

"Everything has been great," Yearling said. "The brewers are happy and the people are happy. Rarely in the event world do things happen the way you envision them, so working with CSU's events staff was great."

According to Mark Paquette, the associate athletic director for facilities/stadium manager at CSU, the split has been 50-50 between university and community functions. It was exactly what outgoing president Tony Frank had in mind when presenting the project.

For every football game, there has been a prom, a company picnic or a wedding. And now the oldest brewer's festival in the state.

"One of the things was it was going to be an engagement tool for campus and the community," Paquette said. "This is a prime example. The brew fest wanted to change the way they were approaching their event. It's been neat to experiment and learn. That first year was first of everything. As we get more experience and our legs underneath us, it's what works best, and Elodie Vigneron (the director of events at Canvas Stadium) works well with clients and their vision to do what they want."

From the vendors, the entire weekend went without a hitch, and as they found, with plenty of help at their service.

"The experience, both Friday and Saturday, has been fantastic," said Mitch Niewiarowicz, head brewer at Rock Bottom Loveland. "It's a great space, it's nice to not be out in the blistering heat or worrying about rain like last year. I've had a really enjoyable experience. It's been cool the way they handled the in-loading and everything. It's been pretty nice."

One of the aspects Paquette likes best is inviting in the public to see a different side of the stadium. Fans who have sat in the stands may never have seen the club level before, or walked through the Hall of Champions and looked out at the field from the OCR Club. Many of events the stadium hosts allow the opportunity for the public to see the facility for all it's worth, and it was one the best parts of the day for Jon and Emily Gronewold.

They've been there on game day, but had never been in the west side of the stadium before Saturday.

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"We thought it was cool, because we've come to some games here, but we've never been on this side of CSU's new stadium," Jon said. "I think it hasn't been too crowded here. We were able to play corn hole a bit, and if you want to get up and go outside, it's nice to have the open area up here. It's created a nice dynamic."

Paquette feels the stadium is just hitting stride in what it can offer community partners. Canvas Stadium provides a wide array of spaces to use, and many of them were on display at the Colorado Brewer's Festival. Vendor and brewers spread out in the OCR club while a two-man band played requests, and patrons took advantage of the outside seating to play games and just chat.

In the Hall of Champions, there was more beer and more vendors, and the most populated area was the club level, with more brewers, more vendors and concession being sold as guests took in a string of bands and took time to good outside and watch the finishing touches of the new turf being put into place. At past events the concourse has been used.

Kyle Dickey, a sales and service representative at New Belgium, is proud of the relationship the company has with the university, noting the large number of graduates they employ. As he put it, "they are part of our DNA."

He wasn't sure exactly how the festival would come off indoors, but was beyond impressed and extremely grateful not to be standing out in the heat. He's ready to come back next year, and so is Yearling.

Even more, Dickey appreciates the way the stadium has become part of the community fabric, seeing the potential for growth.

"I know there's a ton more potential in the works," he said. "I'm a Fort Collins resident, I live, work and play in this area, so I've been very impressed with how it's been going so far. That was an integral part of us being here for the first couple of seasons, in particular with football, but it's been so much more than that already. This is a shining example of that, and I can't wait to see what else is going to come."

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