{"id":672838,"date":"2026-04-11T00:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T00:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/672838\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T00:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T00:09:32","slug":"penner-sports-groups-just-changed-the-landscape-of-colorado-rockies-baseball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/672838\/","title":{"rendered":"Penner Sports Groups Just Changed the Landscape of Colorado Rockies Baseball"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">Say no more.  Change is happening in Colorado, and at this point, it is indisputable that the Colorado Rockies have taken on a completely different perspective in 2026. It was well past time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">The team announced today, Friday, April 10, that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rockies\/onsi\/news\/denver-broncos-ownership-group-becomes-largest-minority-owner-in-colorado-rockies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Penner Sports Group<\/a> has acquired a 40% minority ownership stake in the Rockies.  For a baseball organization that has struggled over the past several years, this is a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">The Penners arrived on scene in Denver when they purchased a stake in the Denver Broncos in August of 2022. While there are other owners involved, Greg and Carrie Walton Penner lead the way for the Broncos.  <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">Greg is the CEO and primary owner, involved in day-to-day operations, while his wife, Carrie Walton Penner, serves in several roles, including Board Chair of the Denver Broncos Foundation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">Now, the Penner family has viewed the Colorado Rockies as an opportunity, and fans should be welcoming of the addition.<\/p>\n<p>Potential Shift in Financial Flexibility<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knwk1vgdg25ve3m4wc.jpg\" alt=\"Denver Broncos CEO Greg Penner and wife Carrie Walton Penner\" title=\"Denver Broncos CEO Greg Penner and wife Carrie Walton Penner\" width=\"7384\" height=\"4153\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"75\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Denver Broncos CEO Greg Penner and wife Carrie Walton Penner | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">Of course, the root of the conversation will always resort back to money.  The biggest impact the Penner family could have on the struggling team is financial.  <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">Colorado has long been viewed as cautious in spending and certainly inconsistent in roster investment. Specifically in recent years, the Rockies have not been aggressive with their roster building.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">After losing the regional sports network income, the team became much more dependent on ticket sales.  While the Rockies have held their own in attendance even through recent 100-plus loss seasons.  In 2025, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/leagues\/majors\/2025-misc.shtml\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Baseball Reference,<\/a> the Rockies ranked 16th out of all MLB attendance with an average of 29,687 per game. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">Recently, though, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rockies\/onsi\/news\/rockies-home-attendance-numbers-causes-major-surprise\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">attendance has been failing<\/a>.  After another sellout crowd for the Home Opener, which resulted in a disastrous loss for the team, the Rockies set an attendance low, with the smallest crowds in Coors Field history other than the COVID year. This was disturbing and further emphasized the need for more change and a different philosophy in the Mile High City.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7l\">Enter Penner Sports Group.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\">The ability to have this kind of financial backing opens up all kinds of opportunities for Colorado. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2026\/04\/10\/broncos-owners-buy-rockies-stake-penner-sports-group\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post<\/a>, the Rockies indicated that the Penner investment will allow the franchise to retire all of its outstanding debt and provide additional capital.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\">More financial freedom opens the door to aggressively pursuing free agents and making much better and bigger investments into player development.<\/p>\n<p>A Different Perspective<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knwk94xf9fwn9w5y0p.jpg\" alt=\"Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort\" title=\"Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort\" width=\"8139\" height=\"4578\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"84\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"88\">While the day-to-day operations may not change with the new ownership structure, there certainly will be a new and fresh perspective brought into the organization. This can be easily witnessed by what the Penners have done since investing in the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8b\">Almost immediately, the Penners worked toward a new stadium and new practice facilities for the NFL team.  That\u2019s not to say that is in store for the Rockies, but certainly fans can hope for some upgrades and investments in modern baseball trends.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8e\">A new voice within the organization is welcomed. What this means to the Rockies is yet to be seen, but if the current trend for the team is indicative, things are looking up.  <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8h\">Denver has had a massive few weeks in the sports world.  According to SportsCenter, the Rockies entered Thursday with the longest active winning streak in MLB. <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Denver sports lately \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>\u26be\ufe0f The Rockies entered Thursday with the longest active winning streak in MLB<br \/>\ud83c\udfc0 The Nuggets entered Thursday with the longest active winning streak in the NBA<br \/>\ud83c\udfd2 The Avalanche have clinched the top spot in the Western Conference<br \/>\ud83c\udfd2 The University of\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tlIdaXjx6C\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/tlIdaXjx6C<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportsCenter\/status\/2042336717051478452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8n\">Wait a minute.  What?  How can that be true of a team that finished dead last in nearly every statistical category in 2025 and recorded a massive loss record?  <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8q\">Change.  That\u2019s how.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-23\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8t\">Admittedly, they lost on Thursday evening to the San Diego Padres, but let\u2019s talk about that.  They went extra innings, took a lead in the 10th, 3-2, went a total of 12 innings before the Padres finally hit a walkoff grand slam to end the game 7-3.  The score didn\u2019t tell the whole story of this game.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-24\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8w\">The Rockies are looking up in more ways than on the field.  Time will tell how this all works out, but you can bet this team won\u2019t be seeing 119 losses any time soon.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Say no more. Change is happening in Colorado, and at this point, it is indisputable that the Colorado&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2405],"tags":[5,167,52,4316,4,168],"class_list":{"0":"post-672838","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-rockies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-rockies","11":"tag-coloradorockies","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-rockies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116383172968091145","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}