Friday, April 8, marks the 21st Colorado Rockies home opener at Coors Field. On Thursday morning, Mayor Michael Hancock helped the Denver Public Works crews paint the “Colorado Rockies Purple Stripe” on Blake Street, stretching from 22nd to 19th streets. The purple stripe has been a symbolic celebration of Denver’s home opener since 1995. City Councilman Albus Brooks also took a turn painting the 18-inch wide strip down the center of the LoDo street.

Once dressed in his coveralls and construction vest, the Public Works crew showed Mayor Hancock how to use the street painter, and he took the reigns from the intersection of 22nd and Blake all the way to 20th before handing off to Councilman Brooks.

“All of our Denver teams are important, and it’s something to brag about when you have such good professional teams in your town,” Hancock told a 9 News reporter before painting the town purple. “This is an important tradition in our city and I’m always honored to do this.”

The Rockies will kick off the 2016 season against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m., but we expect there to be plenty of celebration all day long.