“Hell yeah:” Broncos excited for full capacity crowds

It only took two words to express how important the return to full capacity crowds at Empower Field at Mile High this fall will be to the Denver Broncos.

“Hell yeah,” said defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones on Wednesday. “We need that. That fan aspect is huge.”

The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment announced on Tuesday that large outdoor events and venues — including Empower Field, Coors Field and Red Rocks — no longer need approval to increase capacity or alter distancing or masking requirements.

“These venues now have no capacity limits, distancing requirements or other restrictions,” according to a DDPHE release.

And the news comes as a relief to Jones and his teammates, who haven’t played in front of a roaring Mile High crowd since the 2019 season.

“What they do for us is very important,” Jones said. “… We appreciate what Broncos Country does for us.”

Jones called the situation last season, wherein the Broncos played to little or no fans, “really weird,” saying that it brought his morale down a little because “you don’t hear the fans screaming.”

Wide receiver Tim Patrick echoed a similar sentiment, saying that having a packed house for home games means “everything.”

‘You’re hyped up for the game, but it gets to a point where the game kind of dies down, and there was sometimes I was yawning on the sidelines,” Patrick said on Wednesday. “It got to a point where I started to have to take pre-workout before games. So, having the fans in there, I don’t think I’m going to need pre-workout anymore.”

The first game back to full capacity for the Broncos will be Aug. 28 against the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason. Denver’s regular season home opener is Sept. 26 against the New York Jets.

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