DENVER — There was plenty to learn at the Broncos’ Burnham Yard Community Information Meeting.
The hundreds of people who packed La Alma Recreation Center on Thursday evening got a firsthand look at the latest area plan. They learned about the guiding principles for the design of the planned stadium-anchored mixed-used district. They received insight into the project schedule, saw how the plans would celebrate the area’s culture and history and learned more about the conceptual layout for the districts and neighborhoods around the new stadium.
As the Broncos continued the process of working toward a world-class stadium and mixed-use community, there was no shortage of information.
And yet, the most important element of Thursday’s meeting centered not around the information that was shared, but on the feedback the Broncos received. Over the course of more than two hours, residents of the La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood and surrounding area welcomed an opportunity to share their excitement, voice feedback and take part in a community-driven process.
“I think it’s always important to have community feedback and see what’s important to the people that live here,” said Cecil Courtney, who attended the meeting. “The Denver Broncos are Denver, and I think if you don’t get Denver’s input, you’re missing a step.”
The Broncos, as President Damani Leech explained, are committed to receiving that feedback — and to making sure members of the community have their voices heard.
“There’s a lot of angst, is what we’ve heard from individuals when we’ve met with them about, ‘What is this going to be?'” Leech said. “And that’s understandable. It’s a large development that’s in your neighborhood. Hopefully, people came away feeling better informed, but also understanding that we’re really early in the process and there’s an opportunity to give us their feedback.”
The details of the proposed stadium, Leech said, have yet to be decided. He said the stadium’s capacity has yet to be determined, and there is no set date for when the team plans to release renderings of a stadium. What is clear, though, is the Broncos’ intention to not simply have the Burnham Yard project be limited to only the stadium.
The preliminary plans the team shared Thursday highlighted the surrounding area, including an intent to preserve historic neighborhood elements like the railroad turntable and locomotive shop. In a mixed-use district that is designed to be a vibrant hub, the Broncos will look to create a special environment that is intended for more than just 10 Sundays each fall.
“We want it to be a great place for fans on game day, but also a great place every day for this community that surrounds it — but also everybody in the city of Denver,” Leech said.
The Broncos previously announced they had partnered with Sasaki, a global design practice, for the site’s master plan — and the company is working to make Burnham Yard feel like a cohesive part of the neighborhood. As Sasaki’s Josh Brooks highlighted details of the plan on Thursday, he emphasized the need to create “an extension of the existing community” with the mixed-use district.
“We’re incredibly excited to think about a new and innovative model,” Brooks said. “This is not just a stadium, but rather an entire community. … This is a world-class place for both the everyday and big day, the fans and the community.”
There are still many steps — and years of work — that are needed to create a thriving, stadium-anchored community. But the excitement Thursday was palpable.
“I’m looking forward to it being a world-class type of environment,” community member Ozell McKinney said. “Not only for now, but in the future — and where people can enjoy it year-round.”
For that to become a reality, the feedback of those residents is critical — and the Broncos offered an opportunity Thursday to weigh in on the plan. Leech spoke one-on-one with a number of community members, and the Broncos launched a survey on a variety of topics that received hundreds of responses in mere minutes. The survey allowed those in attendance to share their preferences for open space in the mixed-use district, their biggest concerns and their hopes for their ideal version of the space.
“I took away that they want to be really involved with community input,” neighborhood resident Jordan Freeburn said. “… I think people in this community, myself being one of them — I live just a few blocks away — really value that.”
As the Broncos gathered that feedback, it represented an important element of a partnership that will allow the Broncos and members of the community to work in concert to build the space that Leech described.
“I think anecdotally, I want friends and family to come into Denver and ask where [they] should go, and everybody to say, ‘You should go to Burnham Yard.'” Leech said. “That’s what I want.”