Get ’em to Boulder.
Once upon a time, when the CU Events Center first opened its doors, that often was Bart Emery’s chore — fetching musicians from Stapleton Airport and getting them to Boulder for the then-frequent concerts at the arena, as well as Folsom Field.
Emery’s history has interlaced with the Events Center since well before he started calling the place his work home 15 years ago. The facilities director at Colorado, it’s been a dream job for the Colorado native for more than a decade and a half. But that run is coming to a close, as Emery will lock the doors to the Events Center for the final time when he retires at the end of the month.
Emery is the man who unlocks the doors at the crack of dawn every day, and the man who turns out the lights at the end of another long day. His fingerprints have been an integral part of every athletic event held on campus since 2008, and his departure will leave a huge void in the game-day preparation for CU football games as well as the basketball and volleyball games at the Events Center.
“I was 50 years old when I came back to work here,” Emery said. “To be able to work in college athletics, it’s been a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of nights, weekends, holidays. But I knew that going in, and it’s been a nice way to make a living. It’s long hours for sure. There’s been some Thanksgiving dinners I haven’t been able to go to because we were hosting a basketball tournament, and every other year a football game or a men’s basketball game. But I don’t regret any of it.”
A Lakewood-area native who graduated from Green Mountain High School, Emery returned to his alma mater in 2008 as one of the facility directors at Folsom Field before moving to the Events Center in April of 2010 — the same month in which Tad Boyle was hired as CU’s men’s basketball coach.
Since then, Emery has been a staple at CU sporting events. He has worked at every home football game since 2008. Same with every Boyle-era home game — 251 in a row, through this past season — as well as every women’s basketball game. Emery also has worked home volleyball game since 2010. Since the CU lacrosse program began play in 2014, Emery has worked every home game except three early-season games that conflicted with basketball games.
Of course, that’s only accounting for Emery’s work during the actual games. The time he put into each and every event was far more expansive.
Many of Emery’s duties have been the practical sort, such as changing toilet seats or light bulbs at the Events Center. But his influence and skill set go far beyond the mundane. The pregame microphone check with referees at football games? That’s Emery. Running the sound at basketball postgame press conferences? That’s Emery. Making sure the media tables and the visiting network broadcasters are wired appropriately at the Events Center? Also Emery.
It was almost fitting that Emery ended up at the Events Center, as he was a key part of the events at the arena when it opened in 1979. A student at the time, Emery worked in whatever role he could grab — security, manning the spotlight, helping run the sound — for concerts held at CU.
Emery’s personal T-shirt collection, all from shows held at either the Events Center or Folsom Field, could easily be mistaken for a collection stolen from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Who. Stevie Wonder. The Grateful Dead. Cyndi Lauper. He has the stories to match, such as the time he was asked to fetch Alice Cooper’s boa constrictor, which was shipped to Colorado in a crate on a different flight. Or the time Emery was sent to pick up REO Speedwagon at Stapleton, only to overhear the band members venting to their manager at having a kid in a car without air conditioning for the commute to the gig instead of a limo.
The hours and the labor won’t be missed. The people and those moments, however, are other matters.
“The people for sure,” Emery said. “We work such long hours together, we get to know each other pretty well. I’m going to miss that. I’m going to miss just being on the sidelines for football. I’m going to miss being on the edge of the court for basketball and volleyball. But that’s another thing that I’ve really enjoyed, the variety. It’s not just one thing or one sport. I’ve worked really closely with the table crews at the basketball games, and now I’m going to be calling them for tickets.”
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