Asking for fan feedback on a new stadium is a bad idea by the Broncos
Mar 27, 2023, 6:00 AM
Late last week, it was revealed that the Broncos had sent season ticket holders a comprehensive survey to get their thoughts on the possibility of the team building a new stadium. The questions were wide ranging, covering everything from the location of the venue to the format of the facility.
On the surface, this idea makes sense. After all, these will primarily be the customers who will occupy the new stadium. It seems like getting their opinions would be a solid part of the process. Factoring in their opinions feels like a good way to build consensus and buy-in on the project.
All of that sounds nice. It makes everyone feel better. But it’s a total waste of time.
First things first. The Broncos do need a new stadium. After just 22 years, Empower Field at Mile High is outdated and needs to be replaced.
The facility is essentially the NFL version of the new Comiskey Park. That baseball stadium was the last one built before Camden Yards, when Major League Baseball teams started building retro ballparks that became tourist attractions. As a result, Guaranteed Rate Field is an afterthought, a facility most fans never give a second thought.
Empower Field came just before football stadiums were taken to the next level. AT&T Stadium began the new trend, with “Jerry’s World” becoming a tourist attraction. SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is similar, as is Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. State Farm Stadium in Arizona is on the list, as is Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
These modern stadiums are marvels. They’re state-of-the-art buildings that attract fans from all over the country, for a litany of events.
Empower Field at Mile High is anything but. It hosts Broncos games, as well as a few outdoor concerts during the summer months. It’s not a bucket list venue for any sports fan.
Why? In part because the Broncos let the fans have too much say in the construction.
When the new facility was on the ballot in 1998, the idea of replacing Mile High Stadium was not a popular notion. Fans in Denver loved the long-time home of the team. They had decades of memories in the building. Nostalgia ran deep, blinding most patrons to the building’s problems.
In order to get the votes needed to secure funding, Pat Bowlen and company had to make concessions. In essence, they had to agree to build a newer version of the old stadium.
Empower Field was built alongside Mile High Stadium. It has the same open end on the south side, with Bucky the Bronco atop the scoreboard. The fifth-level stands are steep and close to the field, with metal underneath the seats to allow stomping fans to create plenty of noise during big moments.
Most importantly, the building is an open-air stadium. Keeping with tradition, the Broncos opted not to put a dome on their new stadium.
Some will say that was a cost-savings decision. The facts say otherwise. Empower Field opened in 2001 at a cost of $400 million. NRG Stadium in Houston, which is covered, opened a year later and was built for $352 million. It wasn’t about money.
It was about appeasing the fans. It was about trying to avoid pushback.
That’s understandable. No business likes to make customers unhappy. But sometimes, they have to take the short-term flak in order to provide a better long-term solution.
Plenty of customers were upset when Netflix stopped shipping DVDs via the mail, transitioning to a completely streaming model for content distribution. Good thing the executives didn’t listen to the angry masses.
The fact of the matter is that a new stadium is going to lead to pushback. In general, people don’t like change. Thus, there’s going to be an automatic negative reaction. Couple in the fact that the old facility is one filled with memories of time spent with family and friends, and the idea of a wrecking ball knocking it to the ground is going to go over like a lead balloon.
That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong thing to do, however. For the betterment of the team, as well as the city, the Broncos need to upgrade their stadium.
They need a facility that can be used for more than just football games and occasional concerts. They need a dome in order to attract Super Bowls, Final Fours, college bowl games, WrestleMania and other big-time events that fill 75,000-seat venues.
The economic impact of such events is often debated. But one fact remains true: Something is better than nothing. Having a Super Bowl in town brings in more money than not having one. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that one.
The area around the stadium also needs to be better. There has to be a reason to visit other than a game or event. Restaurants, shopping and other developments have become the norm, turning a stadium into the centerpiece of something that attracts customers outside of 10 Sundays per year.
It could also be a part of a bigger vision. Based on a survey of NFL players conducted during the 2022 season, the Broncos practice facility is also in need of an upgrade.
Why not use the new stadium development to also create something like the Cowboys have in Frisco? There, The Star is much more than just the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters. It’s an event center.
The Broncos could do something similar, improving their facilities while also creating something that the community can use. Indoor practice facilities for football, soccer and lacrosse are hard to find. Incorporate those spaces into the new mega-struture.
These grander visions weren’t considered in the late 1990s when the Broncos were building Empower Field. Instead, the team took a narrow view, trying to move into the future while keeping a foot in the past.
In part, that’s because they cared what the fans thought. As harsh as it sounds, they shouldn’t.
How many fans have been to Arizona, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles or Las Vegas to see the latest iterations of NFL stadiums? How many have been to recent Olympic or World Cup locations to see the latest in amenities and construction? How many have visited Frisco, Texas, or toured the latest state-of-the-art NFL training facilities?
Those questions aren’t meant as a knock. They’re not supposed to have seen those things.
The Broncos brass should have, however. Experts within the NFL should have, as well.
They’re the experts. They’re the ones who have the background, knowledge and experience to know where things are trending, to know what the Broncos need to build not only for now, but for 2040 and beyond.
When a stadium becomes outdated within its first two decades, as Empower Field clearly did, it’s evidence that things weren’t done right in the development process. Thus, a different approach is needed the next time around in order to avoid the same mistakes.
It’s nice of the Broncos to poll their fans about a new stadium. It’s just an unnecessary step.
The franchise needs to think big. They need to have a vision for the future. They need to dream in grandiose terms.
That requires bold leadership. That entails making decisions that might be unpopular in the short term, but are spot on in the long run.
Here’s hoping the Walton Penner Family Ownership Group puts the survey results in the circular file. That’s the only way they’re going to create something truly spectacular in the future.
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