Rox honor late president with McGregor Square

DENVER -- A 655,000-square-foot, mixed-use development scheduled to open just south of Coors Field on Jan. 1, 2021, will be named McGregor Square, after Keli McGregor, the late former president of the club.

The Rockies announced the decision at Coors Field at a naming ceremony on Thursday, the eve of their 2019 home opener.

McGregor, who was 47 years old when he died of a rare heart virus on April 20, 2010, joined the club in 1993 as senior director of operations, became senior vice president in 1996, executive VP in 1998 and president in 2001. His stamp remains with the club in its spirit, as well as with his initials, placed among retired numbers in Coors Field on 2010.

According to the Rockies, an open audio-visual enabled plaza will be surrounded by three buildings that will house 112 private residences, a 176-room hotel, restaurants, retail stores, commercial office space and multiple entertainment spaces. Additionally, it will be the site of the club’s planned Hall of Fame. The goal is to have a bustling area not only on game days, but throughout the year.

The area, across 20th Street from Coors Field, was previously known as “West Lot” and used mostly for parking.

Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort listened to nine suggestions from experts, who outlined principles involved in picking the correct name. It all led to McGregor.

“I’m writing down what we said -- we want it to be something with character, we wanted it to be fun, it needed to have style and class, it needed to be a strong presence and it needed to be one of a kind,” Monfort said. “So I wrote ‘One of a kind’ about a hundred times, and it came to me.”

Lori McGregor, Keli's wife of nearly 25 years, said, “Dick and I had lunch a few months ago, and it was right after he decided that’s what he wanted to do. And of course I cried. We sat in a local restaurant as he told me, and I just could not believe that Keli’s legacy was going to be remembered in such a way that our children and our grandchildren and the community will share his namesake forever.”

The four McGregor children -- Jordan, Taylor, Landri and Logan -- all attended the ceremony, with other family members.

In March 2017, the club announced a 30-year lease agreement that will keep the team in Coors Field through 2047. The lease allowed development of the parking area. The park is owned by the Metropolitan Baseball Stadium District, a seven-county regional agency.

Additionally, the Rockies gave local media a tour of the Coors Field’s new 2019 amenities. Here are some highlights:

• The Wells Fargo Club Level has been renovated with a new merchandise store behind home plate, reconfigured bar and coffee stands on the first-base side, as well as new carpet, lighting and restrooms.

• New LED field lights from 428 LED sports lighting fixtures will generate a total of 550,100 watts of electricity. That’s a reduction of 505,900 watts of electricity from the 528 previous metal halide lighting luminaries.

• Smashburger, a Denver-born restaurant founded in 2007, will have a new stand on the first level of the rooftop.

• The Arrow Electronics Interactive Area on the main concourse in right-center field will have a new batting simulator and photo booth.

• The home clubhouse, players weight room, dining room, lounge and training room, as well as the manager’s office and coaches’ dressing room underwent a complete renovation. For example, each locker has increased storage, room for 16 pairs of shoes and an air cooling system that activates periodically throughout the day and night.