Broncos president admits ‘frustration’ as 2031 stadium timeline tightens

Damani Leech may have been applying some soft public pressure on Saturday.

The goal remains for the Denver Broncos to open a new retractable-roof stadium at Burnham Yard in 2031. The team’s president confirmed Saturday that means ground must break by late spring or early summer of 2027 — and he’s not sure they’ll be ready.

“I’ve got to be honest,” Leech said at training camp. “I wish we were further along in some areas than we are now.”

It’s been six months since the Broncos started hosting community meetings about the 58.5-acre former rail yard south of Colfax that is their preferred stadium site. The benefits agreement hasn’t been finalized. The city’s small area plan is still in progress. The land sale to CDOT has slipped from a mid-May closing to sometime this fall. And the environmental remediation of a century-old industrial site is a process.

Leech says the team can’t muscle through it alone.

“I think, as an example, the community benefits process is something that we can’t control,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of initial great discussions with community representatives. More recently here, it’s been on more of a staff level. We’re eager to engage with those community members directly.”

The construction window is three-and-a-half to four years, per Leech. Work backward from a 2031 opener and the math doesn’t leave much room.

“There are days when I’m driving home and I’m really excited about the progress that we’re making,” he said. “I’ll be honest, there are days when I have concerns. There are days when I have frustration. Because you can’t control it all.”

What the Broncos can control, they’re moving on. Leech announced Saturday it has hired Manica Architecture as lead designer for the stadium and Tryba Architects for the surrounding district. The Broncos and CDOT formalized their purchase agreement at $45.8 million earlier this year, and CDOT can’t sell the land to anyone else until the deal closes or the agreement expires in June 2027. Public records reviewed by the Denver Business Journal show Broncos-linked LLCs have spent more than $120 million on surrounding parcels in recent months.

Leech also tipped the team’s hand on something fans should hate: Personal Seat Licenses are almost certainly coming.

“Every stadium in the last 10-plus years that has been built, there have been PSLs issued,” he said. “So, it seems like a pretty likely thing to happen. But we haven’t made any formal decisions on that.”

The full Burnham Yard vision stretches to 150 acres — two new neighborhoods, an entertainment district, 5 million to 7 million square feet of development beyond the stadium itself. It’s a city-changing project And right now, by the Broncos’ own admission, they’re at a frustrating point.

The Broncos are moving the ball toward the end zone — even if it’s a longer drive than they had hoped — the question is, will anyone impede the franchise’s progress?

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