The Kiwi rugby squad will get the opportunity to test their mettle in the rarified atmosphere of Denver, Colorado in June, when they will play England at Mile High Stadium on the 23rd.
Some things seem to hang on, despite the changing of the times.
The Denver stadium, home to the NFL’s Denver Broncos, was until recently officially known as Sports Authority Field at Mile High, but following the bankruptcy collapse of the sports equipment retailer, which meant that they no longer had the hefty sum needed to retain naming rights, a new name will be announced in the coming months.
All the locals continued to refer to it colloquially as Mile High Stadium, based on the tourism moniker of Denver, which promotes itself as the Mile High City, due to the city’s elevation above sea level, despite what some corporate entity might have though their money entitle them to.
Sports Authorityreportedly paid $US 20 million for naming rights back in 2015 and the five-year deal was set to expire in 2020.
It is certain that the new name will contain Mile High in some form; particularly apt given Colorado’s embrace of recreational marijuana, but regardless, everyone will call in Mile High Stadium.
The All Blacks are taking measures to prepare for the reduced oxygen in the atmosphere in Denver.
They will also take steps to minimize jet lag from the long flight.
The players will not be permitted to consume alcohol prior to the England match, which to some is a shame, since Colorado is a hotbed of microbrew beer innovation. After the game, however…
Another step will be to use blue-light therapy for the jet lag issue and the use of “humidi-flyer face masks to keep the players hydrated in a climate where summer humidity levels are seldom above 20 percent and most often between 10 and 20 percent.
If the Kiwis are concerned about atmospheric moisture levels, consider the poor Brits, who will be coming from boggy England and will probably wither in the sunshine of 5280 feet (134 metres) above sea level.