For months, the community most affected by the Broncos\u2019 planned stadium at Burnham Yard has received only small amounts of information about the development that will be built in its backyard.<\/p>\n
La Alma Lincoln Park residents got their first taste of what\u2019s to come at an open house in November. A community advisory committee for the city\u2019s small area plan at Burnham has met three times since October and received proposed updates on pathways to the stadium site at a Jan. 21 meeting.<\/p>\n
But La Alma Lincoln residents \u2014 and Denver residents at large \u2014 still have been trying to understand the actual size and community traffic to expect with the Broncos\u2019 new stadium, as resident Felix Herzog told The Denver Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (community advisory) committee was fantastic at creating the language that defined equity and access to resources and what we want out of this entire project,\u201d Herzog said. \u201cWhat I haven\u2019t seen yet so far is what the final design is going to look like.\u201d<\/p>\n
That final design is still a ways off. But on Thursday night, at a community information meeting hosted by the Broncos at the La Alma Recreation Center, a crowd received the most detail yet as to the scope of the franchise\u2019s planned mixed-use development at Burnham.<\/p>\n
In a presentation outlining the Broncos\u2019 initial vision, Sasaki architect Josh Brooks \u2014 who\u2019s leading design on the stadium\u2019s development plan \u2014 told community members that the actual stadium area has expanded to 150 acres and said the stadium itself is positioned to the western edge of the region to ensure noise will be \u201cas far away from (La Alma) community as possible.\u201d An updated rendering presented to residents at the meeting outlined a potential tailgate area just south of the stadium, with a swath of surface parking slightly farther south below West Sixth Avenue.<\/p>\n
Broncos president Damani Leech told reporters the actual stadium capacity is \u201cstill TBD\u201d but said the organization is planning for \u201cbetween 5 and 7 million square feet of development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo hopefully, people feel good that it\u2019s not going to be a bunch of skyscrapers right up against the residential neighborhood,\u201d Leech said.<\/p>\n
The Broncos also presented ideas on preliminary phasing for a mixed-use district around the new stadium at Burnham Yard, with plans for preliminary \u201copen space,\u201d entertainment-district buildings and temporary parking lots all to be in place by the stadium\u2019s opening in 2031. Those parking areas, Brooks said, eventually could be built upon with other commercial buildings, similar to an underground garage.<\/p>\n
Meeting organizers also polled the audience on a slew of questions related to stadium development, including preferred kinds of mixed-use structures inside the stadium district. Community members were also asked their primary concern around the Broncos\u2019 new stadium: Attendees voted overwhelmingly for traffic congestion and impacts on property taxes for housing in the area.<\/p>\n
![\"Broncos](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TDP-L-Burnham-Yard-RJS-01815.jpg\")
Broncos President Damani Leech speaks to the crowd as the Denver Broncos host a community meeting at La Alma Recreation Center to share preliminary concepts for the proposed new stadium and mixed-use community at Burnham Yard Denver on February 12, 2026. (Photo by RJ Sangosti\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
\u201cI have mixed feelings about this,\u201d 49-year-old La Alma resident Christy Shinbara told The Post, \u201cbecause we just don\u2019t want any of our neighbors displaced. \u2026 A lot of them are scared about what\u2019s going to happen to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
The poll results mirrored similar concerns discussed in the small area plan advisory committee\u2019s previous meetings. Committee member Christina Eyre told The Post that the group had concerns over proposed designs presented in a Jan. 21 meeting for pedestrian crossings across the nearby RTD rail line at 10th Avenue, Ninth Avenue and Eighth Avenue, given the crossings\u2019 immediate proximity to several homes in La Alma Lincoln Park.<\/p>\n
As part of their presentation Thursday, the Broncos also are proposing to extend an RTD rail line through Burnham up and over West 13th Avenue, creating an underpass for cars and pedestrians to pass beneath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot more work to be done on, actually, what that looks like and what the community wants,\u201d said David Gaspers, a special projects supervisor in community planning and development with the city, speaking on access to Burnham. \u201cAt-grade crossings, especially with that many trains, is something that we need to think about thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Multiple members of the small area plan committee confirmed to The Post that the plan is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, as the Broncos work concurrently on a large development plan. The organization also presented an updated timeline Thursday, noting expectations for a community-benefits agreement to be completed early in 2027 and actual stadium construction to begin midway through the same year.<\/p>\n
For now, community members still met Thursday\u2019s slew of new information with equal doses of curiosity and skepticism. Herzog noted that planned construction on parking areas would put \u201ca lot of stress on the community.\u201d Others were more positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s honestly exciting \u2026 if it goes the way they say,\u201d Shinbara said. \u201cIt sounds like they have our best interests at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n