The Broncos are poised to stay in the heart of Denver, and that is an announcement that all of Colorado can celebrate, even if they’ve never cheered for the orange and blue.
Greg Penner, CEO of the Broncos, announced Tuesday morning that the football team’s ownership group plans to spend billions of dollars transforming an abandoned railyard just southeast of downtown into a new stadium and entertainment district.
In an exclusive interview with The Denver Post, Gov. Jared Polis, Mayor Mike Johnston and Greg Penner shared a vision for Burnham Yard that is far more than just another billion-dollar stadium project in a country that financially, and often emotionally, supports 32 teams in the National Football League.
“Sometimes you need constraints,” Penner said, explaining that his team was drawn to Burnham Yard by the possibility of using some of the existing buildings, rusted equipment, and even the old switchyard.
Those constraints include contaminated land, historic buildings, a working rail line, and acquiring splotches of land one at a time to reach about 100 acres that Penner and his group have quietly spent the last year acquiring in a city where less than a quarter acre of land sells for about a half-million dollars. We can see how the constraints on the site will lend themselves to an authentic project that feels less like a privately owned utopia and more like a natural extension of the city’s core.
If everything comes together the Broncos stadium at Burnham Yard will give Denver a state-of-the-art venue that can compete for tourism-generating events year-round, a transit-oriented development that offers visitors alternative means of fast, easy transportation, and a revitalized part of the city that is now a blighted brownfield.
Our biggest concern with this location was the need for Denver Water to move some of its operations, including brand new buildings, and sell the land to the Broncos as part of their 100-acre footprint. The CEO of Denver Water, Alan Salazar, assured us early on that he would not let the project increase water rates.
Fortunately, Penner and Johnston said the final agreement will make Denver Water whole. The new Denver Water headquarters building will remain where it is, but the Broncos will acquire new land for Denver Water’s operations equipment and repair facilities, and pay for the new buildings on the site.
“This was a good outcome,” Penner said. “But also Alan (Salazar) and his team were very tough, so it was not an easy one to get to resolution.”
We appreciate everyone’s diligence in getting to this point where Burnham Yard — despite and because of all the complications and constraints — is the preferred location for the new Broncos stadium.
Penner’s vision is that the new stadium and entertainment district will embrace the history of Burnham Yard, maintaining some of the existing buildings and even some of the historic equipment to make this project so much more than another mixed-use development. Too often, developments of this size that pop up on virgin ground get lost to boring cookie-cutter street scaping and architecture. But the Broncos’ owners aren’t building a Disneyland an hour south of Denver where the “Mainstreet” will look just like the one outside Orlando.
Polis and Johnston deserve credit for bringing 58 acres of state-owned land to the table. The project supports urban infill and it will capitalize on the existing light-rail station at the location and future plans for a Front Range Passenger Train that drops off commuters from north and south of the Denver Metro Area.
“This is a chance to showcase transit-oriented development in a very special place,” said Polis, who has used his influence during his two terms in office to champion our fledgling rail system and public transportation.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston emphasized the win for Colorado that not only will the 58 acres of Burnham Yard be reborn after having sat vacant for 10 years, but also the 80 acres under the existing Empower Field and Mile High Stadium will revert to city ownership, creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city to direct its own development, including providing affordable housing in a city where all but the most affluent buyers have been priced out.
All three men cautioned that there was a risk the project could not move forward as envisioned. Some parcels of land still must be acquired and obviously the Broncos’s owners need to finalize their design and architectural plans.
But we would rather celebrate too early than let the moment slip by.
The preferred alternative, should this plan be stymied by environmental remediation costs, neighborhood opposition, or bungled land sales, is in Lone Tree. That is about an hour south of the city center, but Lone Tree is a small town that will continue to thrive even without a multi-billion-dollar investment from the Broncos.
Finally, we would like to celebrate that the Broncos’ plans expose the public to much less risk than other projects. For example, Las Vegas financed almost half of the Raiders’ $2 billion stadium with a hotel room tax.
Both Polis and Johnston emphasized that the Broncos’ owners did not want a taxpayer-funded stadium and that the redevelopment project would not require a tax increase of any sort.
But we do urge some caution and restraint as this project rolls forward with an aggressive timeline that could have the Broncos playing their first game in the new stadium in 2031.
Polis and Johnston can be extremely transparent about the subsidies for this project. Are the Broncos going to pay fair market value for the state-owned land and the nearby parcel owned by Denver Water? Will the Broncos’ owners be granted taxing authority to levy higher property taxes and sales taxes on future homeowners and businesses in Burnham Yard? How many tax subsidies will the Broncos receive from the city and state?
Penner, Polis and Johnston said it is far too early to answer those questions, as there isn’t even a site plan for the development yet. Long before a special district or metropolitan district gets approved, the Broncos’ owners must begin the planning process for zoning approvals. Tax increment financing won’t be an option until the Department of Urban Renewal completes its assessment of the land. It has become a given, however, that every developer on the Front Range be given taxing authority by the city or county, and it is likely that this project will also qualify for tax breaks due to the nature of the remediation needed on the land.
Those concessions to the Walton-Penner Ownership Group could transform Burnham Yard into a vibrant community that fits seamlessly with the existing neighborhood, while freeing up 80 acres at the old Mile High site for a housing project directed by the City of Denver. The benefit will far outweigh the costs and the Broncos will remain right where they belong, only a few miles from the historic Mile High location and close to the beating heart of the city.
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