![\"Denver](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760976552_378_960x0.jpg\")
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Burnham Yard in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
Denver Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n
If Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner\u2019s plans work out the way he wants, expect his NFL team to have a new stadium surrounded by a fresh mixed-use district in Burnham Yard, all ready to go in time for the 2031 season. <\/p>\n
This fall, Penner announced plans for a privately funded retractable roof stadium at the 100-acre site, much of it at the Burnham Yard downtown railyard\u2014it stopped operating in 2016 and was sold to the state in 2021\u2014that predates even Colorado statehood. <\/p>\n
Selection of the site has put the Broncos in partnership with the city and the state, aiming to have the project privately funded, even as the city would need to make improvements in and around the area.<\/p>\n
Located less than a mile southeast of the current empower Field at Mile High, which opened in 2001, any potential move to a new venue would come as the 30-year lease the Broncos have on the venue runs out. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more excited about Burnham Yard as the preferred site to build a new stadium,\u201d Penner says, \u201cand an incredible year-round destination.\u201d <\/p>\n
MORE: NFL Schedule Makers Help Design Stadiums And Arenas<\/a><\/p>\n While design decisions on the planned new stadium may still be in the future, the team has already said it expects to have a retractable roof and a natural grass field. The retractable roof allows Denver\u2019s football games to be played outdoors while creating a more inviting year-round use of the venue for a variety of events. <\/p>\n \u201cThe stadium is going to have all the modern amenities and bells and whistles, and then around it, we have a real opportunity in that area to create an incredible mixed-use district,\u201d Penner said. \u201cThat\u2019ll be a real appeal, we think for the community and our fans.\u201d <\/p>\n A view of Empower Field At Mile High in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Ric Tapia\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Denver Mayor Mike Johnston calls the plan an \u201camazing gift for the city and generations to come.\u201d <\/p>\n As has become the trend in new stadium development, owners looking to maximize profits on real estate developments create a mixed-use district surrounding the site. The Denver plan includes millions of square feet of housing, office space, restaurants, retail, hotels, entertainment venues and more. The site will include TRD light rail. \u201cOne of our goals is to make sure that we are engaging community members 365 days a year in the area around the stadium,\u201d says Carrie Walton Penner, Broncos co-owner. \u201cSo, it\u2019s not something that will just have a large parking lot all around it, but really creating some place that\u2019s special that people leave and talk about and say, \u2018Oh my gosh, when you come to Denver, you\u2019ve got to be here at Burnham Yard.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n During the planning, the team expects to highlight the 150-year history of the site, including the large locomotive building still there. \u201cThe first time we stepped on the site, there was a real appeal going back to the history of Burnham Yard and the rail, which is an important part of Colorado history,\u201d Greg Penner says. \u201cWe think it\u2019s an opportunity for us to activate a number of those old historic buildings and features on the site as part of what we\u2019re building.\u201d <\/p>\n