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How early should I get to Ball Arena for a concert?

Enter the showtime, say which lot, and see when to leave and when to start getting ready.

Try it with your own show

  1. Tap the showtime and set it to the one on your ticket.
  2. Tap any duration and change it to how long that step really takes you.
  3. Every start time shifts so you can see when to leave and when to start getting ready.
Showtime
15 min Final pack & check 6:05 PM
20 min Drive to the venue 6:20 PM
12 min Park in a Toyota lot 6:40 PM
10 min Walk in from a general lot 6:52 PM
10 min Walk-through screening 7:02 PM
8 min Escalators up to your level 7:12 PM
10 min In your seat for the opener 7:20 PM
Showtime 7:30 PM

Show night at Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado. Not sure which time on the ticket matters? The concert night plan covers doors, opener and headliner at any venue.

Want this on your phone? Ready Time sends an alert when it’s time to start each step.

Ready Time app icon

Ready Time

You know what you need to do. Ready Time helps you know when to start.

Travel time to Ball Arena

The 20-minute drive is a typical run from Denver without show traffic (the optimistic number). In the app, set Ball Arena as the destination and Apple Maps fills in the time from where you’re leaving.

Home Ball Arena
🚗 20 min
🚗 Drive 🚶 Walk 🚴 Cycle
20 min Drive to the venue

Then add for show night: every car aiming at the same entrance (real drive to Ball Arena). Change the row and every step before it moves.

Ball Arena seen from outside, in Denver.
Photo by Troutfarm27, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for this page.

What the time on the ticket means

The time on the ticket is when the first act is due on. Seating here is reserved, so nobody is racing for a spot; the deadline really is the show. Aim to be in your seat ten minutes before the first act, and budget the walk to your row: it is the part people misjudge, not the drive.

Some tours sell a general-admission floor here, and that ticket is a different evening: the arena lets GA holders start a line at the Grand Atrium VIP Door 1 from 10 in the morning, and everyone with a GA ticket enters through that one door. The plan here is for a numbered seat.

Here is the evening drawn to scale. A maps app can number the drive. The rest is the walk in from the lot, the bag check, and the walk to your row.

Front door to your seat: 1hr 25min

  • Before you leave 15 min
  • Getting there 32 min
  • The lot and the walk in 10 min
  • Gate, stairs and seat 28 min

Getting to Ball Arena

The light rail stops at the building. Ball Arena/Elitch Gardens is served by the C, E and W lines. The D and H lines are suspended while RTD rebuilds the downtown track, so a route that worked last season may not be running now, and the C line is what replaced the D. There is an RTD bus stop at 9th Street and Auraria Parkway, and the free MallRide runs the 16th Street Mall, currently on 15th and 17th while the mall is rebuilt.

Driving, the arena’s own directions send you off I-25 at exit 210B for Auraria Parkway from the south and exit 212B onto Chopper Circle from the north; from downtown it is Speer Boulevard to Auraria Parkway.

Ball Arena was previously called Pepsi Center, so older directions, tickets and map pins may still use that name.

The RTD light rail platform at Ball Arena–Elitch Gardens station, beside the arena lots.
Photo by Jeffrey Beall, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for this page.

The lots, and the walk in

The lots are named after Toyota models and they ring the building, and on a concert night more of them take the public than on a game night. 4Runner, Tundra and Elitch’s Lot next door are the general ones, Camry on the southwest side opens to the public for concerts, and RAV4 is the premier lot with the closest spaces. Corolla is permit-only and Tacoma is not open to the public at all, so aim at a lot by name rather than at the first sign you see.

The lots open three hours before the start of the show and parking staff stay an hour after it. Every lot takes a card, and buying the spot alongside the ticket on Ticketmaster settles it before the drive. Accessible spaces are first come, first served. Rideshare pick-up and drop-off happens in one place only, the entrance at 5th and Walnut inside the 4Runner West lot.

The choice is how much of the walk you want to buy out. RAV4 puts you at the doors in a few minutes and costs the most of the self-park lots. The general lots are a longer walk in and a slower crawl out, because all of them empty onto the same few streets. There is also a valet lot, TRD-Pro, with its drop-off at the circle drive outside the East Atrium.

The gate, the bag, and the stairs

Screening is Evolv Express, which you walk through with your phone, keys and wallet still on you. Bags are the strict part: only clutches, wristlets and fanny packs measuring 4 by 6 by 1.5 inches or smaller are allowed, and purses and backpacks are not permitted. Diaper bags and medical bags up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches are allowed after inspection and go in through the VIP/ADA Door 1 at the Grand or East Atrium for an x-ray.

A bag that fails can go in the bag check lockers near the Infinity Sculpture and the Spires in the Grand Atrium plaza, for a fee, card or phone payment only. They close an hour after the show, and you cannot get back to the locker during it. No outside food or drink, and for concerts that includes empty water bottles, which are allowed at games and not at shows. There is no re-entry.

Doors, lots and bag rules change; the official site is the live source.

Save this Ball Arena plan in Ready Time and it tells you when to leave and when to be in your seat.

Ready Time app icon

Ready Time

You know what you need to do. Ready Time helps you know when to start.

Common questions

How early should I get to Ball Arena?

The plan's floor is the gate 28 minutes before the show: screening, the walk to your section, and a few minutes in the seat. Your seat is reserved, so nothing is lost by not being there the moment the gates open. The walk from the lot depends on which lot you got.

What time should I leave for a 7:30 PM show at Ball Arena?

About 6:20 PM from Denver with a 20-minute drive and a spot in one of the general lots. Later for the RAV4 premier lot. Every row above is editable; the first travel row is your leave-by time.

How does parking work at Ball Arena?

The Toyota lots ring the arena and open three hours before the start of the show. For concerts the public lots are 4Runner, Tundra, Camry and Elitch’s Lot, plus RAV4 as the premier lot with the closest spaces and TRD-Pro as valet. Corolla is permit-only and Tacoma is closed to the public.

Every lot takes a card, and parking can be bought with the ticket on Ticketmaster. Rideshare pick-up and drop-off is only at 5th and Walnut inside the 4Runner West lot. The official Ball Arena policies and FAQ has the current lots.

How long is the walk from the parking lot at Ball Arena?

About five minutes from the RAV4 premier lot, which has the closest spaces. Nearer ten from 4Runner, Tundra or Elitch’s Lot, and longer on the way out, because the lots empty onto a small number of streets at once. The plan's default for one of the general lots is 10 minutes, and it is editable.

Can I take a bus or train to Ball Arena?

Yes. The C, E and W light rail lines stop at Ball Arena/Elitch Gardens, at the building. The D and H lines are suspended during RTD’s downtown track rebuild, so check the current map rather than an old one. An RTD bus stop sits at 9th Street and Auraria Parkway, and the free MallRide runs on 15th and 17th while the 16th Street Mall is rebuilt.

What bag can I bring into Ball Arena?

Only clutches, wristlets and fanny packs measuring 4 by 6 by 1.5 inches or smaller. Purses and backpacks are not permitted. Diaper bags and medical bags up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches are allowed after inspection and are x-rayed at the VIP/ADA Door 1 at the Grand or East Atrium.

Bag check lockers near the Infinity Sculpture in the Grand Atrium plaza take a fee, card or phone payment only, and a checked bag cannot be reached during the show because there is no re-entry. No outside food or drink, and no water bottles at concerts, even empty ones.

Going to a game instead? The stadium pages. Flying in? The airport pages.

Share one leave time with everyone on the trip

Whoever is driving sees the same 6:20 PM leave-by that you do, not just the showtime on the ticket.

They tap once, and every step gets its own alert on their phone.

👥 Shared by Rosa
🎧 Show at Ball Arena
15 min Final pack & check 6:05 PM
20 min Drive to the venue 6:20 PM
12 min Park in a Toyota lot 6:40 PM
Showtime 7:30 PM
🎧 Show at Ball Arena
15 min Final pack & check 6:05 PM
20 min Drive to the venue 6:20 PM
12 min Park in a Toyota lot 6:40 PM

Build it once, then use it every show

Ready Time keeps the plan and subtracts again when the show time changes. Put in the next ticket and the same steps land on new times, with an alert on each one.

Ready Time 6:05 PM
Final pack & check. Showtime in 1h 25m
Ready Time 6:52 PM
Walk in from a general lot. Showtime in 38m
Ready Time 7:20 PM
In your seat for the opener. Showtime in 10m

Alerts when it's time to start

Get a nudge at the right moment, while there's still time to act.

Each step gets its own alert, so you know what's next and how long you have.

The countdown to showtime, on your Lock Screen

Start the plan in the app, and the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island show the time left, with a bar that fills as each step passes.

Glance at it on the walk in without opening the app.

Live Activities are part of Premium, a one-time unlock.

“It has helped me tremendously to manage my timeblindness, and I tell people about it all the time.”
Ready Time user, 2021
Ready Time app icon

Ready Time

You know what you need to do. Ready Time helps you know when to start.

Other venues

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