The Broncos need help getting across the stadium finish line.<\/p>\n
The team in September announced that Burnham Yard \u2014 located south of Colfax Avenue and east of Interstate 25 \u2014 is the \u201cpreferred site\u201d<\/a> for a retractable-roof stadium and mixed-use entertainment district. <\/p>\n The Broncos have progressed toward that goal with multiple community meetings<\/a> and a Colorado Department of Transportation sales agreement to purchase roughly 58 acres in May<\/a> at Burnham Yard.<\/p>\n However, on Monday at the NFL owners meetings, the Broncos\u2019 front office expressed a need for collaboration to meet a 2031 target date to open a new stadium. Controlling owner Greg Penner told reporters in Arizona that \u201cas of right now, we are on track\u201d to hit that goal \u2014 but with a caveat.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an ambitious timeline that we have, and we won\u2019t be able to accomplish our goals in terms of timing and getting in there just by ourselves,\u201d Penner explained. \u201cSo, it\u2019s not just something that the Broncos are driving. We have to have a lot of support from partners and others that are involved with the site.\u201d<\/p>\n Broncos team President Damani Leech added: \u201cThese construction projects take multiple years. You have to get prepared with a number of city and community processes that we\u2019re all invested in and engaged in right now. We can\u2019t do it alone. It\u2019s going to take a lot of key partners at the city level (and) at state level. \u2026 It\u2019s just important everybody (understands) the timeline is realistic. But it\u2019s also ambitious.\u201d<\/p>\n Here is a breakdown of several next steps (and a backup plan) to make the Broncos\u2019 stadium dreams a reality.<\/p>\n Community Benefits Agreement: A CBA is a legal \u201cagreement between a community organization and a developer\u201d for \u201cneighbors to work together with the development projects to make sure the community\u2019s priorities are reflected,\u201d according to a city document<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Broncos have not officially started that process with residents of La Alma-Lincoln Park, Leech said, but informal conversations started quickly after the stadium announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Community Benefits Agreement is a critical part of this. When we talk about the community and engaging with the community, that happens on multiple levels,\u201d Leech said. \u201cWhile we\u2019ve appreciated conversations with neighborhood groups \u2026 that process has not officially begun.\u201d<\/p>\n Leech added there is no official timeline for completing a CBA.<\/p>\n Denver Water: The Burnham Yard site is home to Denver Water facilities. It must relocate buildings that house the public agency\u2019s operations and maintenance, distribution, trades, fleet, meter shop warehouse and health clinic workers.<\/p>\n Denver Water did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday about that progress.<\/p>\n \u201cDenver Water is going to be an important part of the process,\u201d Penner said. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s a utility that provides tremendous assets to the community, and we need to make sure that as we move forward that their service isn\u2019t interrupted in any way. We\u2019re cognizant of that. But also coming up with a plan that allows us to get in there on the timeline that we have in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Leech added: \u201cWe have a great relationship with them and (Denver Water CEO\/manager) Alan Salazar. We certainly respect and understand their priorities. We have good and open conversations. They want this to happen and so we continue to work with them. I feel like we will be able to solve it.\u201d<\/p>\n Private real estate: The Broncos must complete a series of private land deals in order to secure the entire proposed 150-acre site at Burnham Yard. That includes land occupied by SRM Concrete. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a number of private transactions that we\u2019re still working on, the concrete company being one of those,\u201d Penner said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to try to get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n Backup plan: The Broncos\u2019 current lease to play games at Empower Field ends in 2030. However, if new stadium progress stalls, it\u2019s possible the team could remain at the current Mile High for longer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fallback would be to extend our agreement with the current stadium,\u201d Penner said.<\/p>\n How soon might the Broncos declare Burnham Yard as the approved stadium site?<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have all of our ducks lined up and be prepared to say that we are formally moving forward with that site,\u201d Penner said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure exactly when that is going to be, but hopefully, sometime in the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n
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