When it comes to a new stadium, Broncos still in the “first quarter”
Jul 26, 2023, 5:05 PM
The Denver Broncos have made it no secret they’re in the early stages of potentially building a new stadium.
A survey went out to season-ticket holders in March, asking fans where it should be located if they do decide to go in that direction.
The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group (WPFOG) and top team brass also toured a number of stadiums this past year, including SoFi in L.A., Allegiant in Las Vegas, U.S. Bank in Minneapolis, AT&T in Arlington, Lumen Field in Seattle and Hard Rock in Miami.
“I’d say broadly we’re still, to use a football metaphor, in the first quarter of that,” president Damani Leech said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Continuing to do research. We visited a number of facilities last season, no current plans to visit any more.”
But that doesn’t mean Leech and the WPFOG won’t have their eyes open as the Broncos hit the road this season and play in stadiums around America.
“Obviously, as we travel to away games certainly spend some time not just at those facilities, but also hockey and basketball arenas. We went to Golden State and saw that facility there. I think there’s a lot to learn and so we’ll just continue to research,” Leech said.
Top team officials also toured the Seattle Kraken’s new arena, Climate Pledge, so it’s interesting to add the Warriors to the list. They moved into the Chase Center in 2019.
While nothing feels imminent, this is all worth keeping an eye on.
In the meantime, Leech and CEO Greg Penner also praised the $100 million worth of upgrades at Empower Field at Mile High this offseason.
That will certainly remain home for at least the next several years, as breaking ground and building a new stadium doesn’t happen overnight.
Should that decision even happen, considering it’s still in the early stages as Leech made clear again on Wednesday.
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