Pepsi Center - Double-booking Controversy

Double-booking Controversy

On August 15, 2008, World Wrestling Entertainment booked an internationally televised event, WWE Raw, to take place at Pepsi Center on Monday, May 25, 2009. However, Denver Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner Stan Kroenke arranged a verbal agreement to book Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers on the same date prior to the Nuggets actually earning a slot in the playoffs. Though a contract existed to hold the venue for the WWE event and only a verbal agreement granted the Nuggets the venue, Kroenke stood firm that the Nuggets game would take precedence.

WWE chairman Vince McMahon said, "Even though the Denver Nuggets had a strong team this year and were projected to make the playoffs, obviously Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner Stan Kroenke did not have enough faith in his own team to hold the May 25 date for a potential playoff game."

For the WWE event, Ticketmaster refused to refund their processing fee, thereby only giving fans a partial refund. The fee, however, is strictly charged by Ticketmaster alone and not WWE or KSE. On May 20, 2009, it was announced that the WWE event scheduled for Pepsi Center would be moved to Staples Center in Los Angeles, California (home of the Nuggets' Western Conference Finals opponent), and return to the Denver area for a non-televised event at the Denver Coliseum on August 7, 2009, with refunds for the original date made available at points of purchase.

The double-booking controversy was parlayed into a main-event match during the May 25 edition of Raw at Staples Center. In the match, the face team wearing Lakers jerseys (Batista, Montel Vontavious Porter, John Cena, Jerry Lawler & Mr. Kennedy) defeated the heel team wearing Nuggets jerseys (The Miz, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & The Big Show) in a 10-man tag team match.