Vicki Ray can count the number of Denver Nuggets games she’s missed since she first sat in the nosebleeds at McNichols Sports Arena 32 years ago.
There were two games in 2005 when her mother died and the four in 2022 after Ray had a stroke. One when she was snowed in at her Lone Tree home and all the games closed to fans during the coronavirus pandemic.
And then there are the 14 games she’s missed since Kroenke Sports & Entertainment officials revoked her floor-level season tickets over claims she violated NBA and arena rules for contact with players and referees.
Ray, 72, said the altercations didn’t happen and theorized the company revoked her tickets for other reasons.
“My first reaction was somebody wants my seats, because I’ve had those seats the whole time the arena has been open,” Ray said in an interview with the Denver Post this week.
In a statement, Kroenke officials said the tickets were revoked “due to repeated violations and warnings of the NBA’s Code of Conduct as well as Ball Arena’s Code of Conduct.”
The company’s statement cited “unwanted contact with participants” that continued “even after repeated warnings.”
“We are saddened to take this action but have done so in accordance with league and venue guidelines,” Kroenke officials said in a statement.
Kroenke officials declined to answer further questions about revoking Ray’s tickets. The National Basketball Referees Association and National Basketball Players Association did not respond to requests for comment.
The first time Ray heard of any problems was Feb. 2, when two security guards approached her after the game and said she had grabbed a referee, who pushed her away and said “No.”
On Feb. 4, arena officials told her a player reported she hit him in the face. Ray said she only ever holds her hand out for players as they’re coming and leaving the arena, and it’s their choice to give her a high-five.
The phone call revoking her season tickets came on Feb. 13, two days after she had put a deposit down for the next season.
Longtime Nuggets fan Vicki Ray’s photo with Marcus Camby at her home in Lone Tree, Colorado on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Ray was banned from games after she had “unwanted contact with participants.” Ray denies the accusations. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
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It was a shock to Ray, who feels as close as family to the Nuggets team.
Her sitting room is lined with shelves of Nuggets memorabilia – dozens of signed Nikes, countless pictures of her posing with players and celebrities at games, get-well posters sent by the team after she had her stroke and a teddy bear and birthday card sent by Marcus Camby.
Ray said she’s considering legal action but declined to provide the name of her attorney. She’ll be able to apply for season ticket membership again next year, but that’s no guarantee she’ll get in, she said.
“I just want my seats,” she said. “I want to be there.”
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