As the festival season charges full steam ahead, the preparation for each event becomes a task in itself. Welcome to MP3 PREP, your ultimate guide to navigating the pulsating world of music festivals. Here’s what you need to know about the Stockyards Event Center Grounds, Global Dance Festival’s new venue.

For the last seven years, Colorado’s premier dance music event, Global Dance Festival, called Empower Field at Mile High Stadium home. Every year, Mile High Stadium served as the faithful stomping grounds for fans and artists alike, and Global Dance Festival took full advantage of the location’s prime location and ample space for art activations and massive stage designs.

But, this year, Global Dance Festival is migrating to the Stockyards Event Center Grounds. The new venue promises extended event hours, reimagined production and art instillations, and a larger event space (48,000 square feet, to be exact).

Here are three things you need to know about the Stockyards Event Center Grounds ahead of the July 26th-27th event.

READ: MP3 PREP — Global Dance Festival is Changing This Year. Here’s What You Need to Know

1. The Neighborhood: South Platte River’s Change of Scenery

Nestled firmly against the South Platte River in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood, the Stockyards Event Center Grounds is a much different vibe than Global Dance Festival’s previous home at Empower Field.

For starters, the absence of a massive stadium looming over the event space is an obvious change of scenery. Empower Field doesn’t had a certain charm and utility for Global Dance Festival throughout the years, but it was impossible to ignore the massive structure in the background at all times. The Stockyards Event Center Grounds is much more subtle, and puts more emphasis on the music and concert experience.

The new venue is located beside the South Platte River, which adds some nice ambiance and a quaint natural touch to the otherwise metro location. Additionally, there’s a train station located right outside the venue, which means easy access to-and-from and less money spent on ubers.

2. Extended Event Hours Means Longer Raves

Previously, Global Dance Festival ended at 11:00pm sharp, due to sound ordinances in the Empower Field’s surrounding neighborhoods. But the Stockyards Event Center Grounds doesn’t have the same restrictions, and Global Dance has announced that artists will perform until 1:00am this year.

Because of these extended event hours, artists will likely have a bit more breathing room when it comes to their set times, and more artists can take advantage of the massive production and stage design (lights, lasers, visuals, etc) when the sun goes down.

In previous years, Global Dance was known for hosting tons of after parties at Denver clubs like The Church, Temple, and Gothic Theater. But considering the festival is going until 1:00am this year, there’s much more room to keep the spotlight no the main event throughout the evening.

3. Global Dance Festival is Debuting Brand New Production

Global Dance Festival’s three main stages, the Summit Stage, Northern Lights Stage, and the Amazon Stage, have become iconic landmarks of the annual event. Each stage captured its own vibe, and boasted impressive production that kept in line with contemporary rave culture in almost every way.

This year, Global Dance Festival is reimaging their stage designs to coincide with the new event space, which promises to be their most ambitious production to date. The Stockyards Event Center Grounds boasts 48,000 square feet and two indoor arenas, which provides plenty of opportunities to get creative.

Alongside this new stage production, Global Dance is also bringing new art instillations, activations, and food trucks to the new space.

The Stockyards Event Center Grounds Is a Promising New Home

Global Dance Festival’s migration to the Stockyards Event Center Grounds represents a new chapter for Global Dance Festival. After seven years at Empower Field, the new venue provides a great opportunity to breathe some fresh air into the annual event and keep things interesting.

To learn more about Global Dance Festival and purchase tickets to this year’s event, visit globaldancefestival.com.

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