Basketball fans who’ve shelled out hundreds of dollars for NBA Finals tickets to watch the Denver Nuggets play the Miami Heat can avoid spending lots more on parking by taking a train or bus to the game.
Two light rail lines (the E and the W) stop at a station just west of Ball Arena, and the Regional Transportation District also offers bus service on several nearby routes.
Fans heading to Game 1 on Thursday night or Game 2 on Sunday night can catch a train or bus near their homes or hotels — or ditch their cars at Park-n-Ride lots around metro Denver.
Tips for train service
A word of warning: Because of a long-running maintenance project, the E-Line is running only every 30 minutes, half its normal frequency. So is the H-Line, which doesn’t serve Ball Arena directly but connects with the E-Line on the southeast light rail corridor. The maintenance work also has delayed trains in the southern portions of the corridor.
RTD says riders should bring patience and plan for crowds on platforms and trains. The agency says it will add extra cars to E and W line trains before and after games. Both lines begin north of Ball Arena at Union Station, with the W-Line running west to Golden and the E-Line traveling to Denver’s southeast suburbs.
The agency says it also will add cars to commuter-rail trains on the N-Line, which connects northern suburbs to Union Station. The A, B and G lines also terminate at Union Station, connecting via a short walk along 17th Street to the E and W lines’ platform.
Or it’s a half-mile walk to the arena.
Beware of late-night train schedules for return trips after the game — especially if it goes into overtime. The final E and W trains leave the Ball Arena station in either direction just before or after midnight; at Union Station, the last N-Line train departs at 10:56 p.m., with final departures for the B-Line at 11:09 p.m. and for the G and A lines after midnight.
Taking the bus to the game
Four bus lines — routes 1, 6, 15L and 43 — have stops along Auraria Parkway near Ball Arena or on the Auraria Campus, but they tend to run infrequently late at night.
The better bet, RTD says, is to take one of several buses to Union Station and either transfer to the E or W lines or walk to the arena. The agency recommends the Flatiron Flyer from Boulder and the U.S. 36 corridor, along with routes 0, 9, 10, 15, 20 and 32 in different directions from downtown.
Most, but not all, run late enough for return trips after the game, so be sure to check their schedules.
Other transit tips
RTD’s Next Ride website and the Transit app are among the easiest ways to track schedules, with some rail lines and bus routes offering real-time tracking.
The transit system’s fares ($3 or $5.25 each way, depending on local or regional service) are purchased from kiosks at stations or via RTD’s MyRide or third-party apps.
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