Burnham Yard or Lone Tree? Frankly, my dear, Tom Jacobsen doesn’t give a dome.
“What makes football so unique is the fact that they will play in anything,” the Broncos lifer told me. Jacobsen, 54, has had season tickets in the family since 1965 and has been attending games at Mile High and its successor, Empower Field, since 1976.
“So when you strip that away, and so many more places are stripping that away, you lose what makes it cool, to me.”
The Broncos’ lease at Empower Field is up after the 2030 season. A stadium usually takes four-ish years to build. Entities with ties to the Broncos have been buying up land around Burnham Yard in Lincoln Park since last August. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston told The Post on July 9 that he’ll have “more to say in the week to come” on the franchise’s alleged Burnham Yard interest.
Officially, the team’s played it coy. But it doesn’t take a whole lot of yarn to connect the push pins on your evidence board.
“I’m 1,000% no dome,” Jacobsen laughed. “No. Dome.”
Tom’s a member in good standing in the Broncos Quarterback Club, the team’s official booster club since 1964. Even those in the club have been divided for years when it comes to the notion of seeing their favorite team playing under a roof. Even a retractable one.
What’s different now, Jacobsen says? His side — “no dome” — is now in the minority, at least among Quarterback Club membership.
“My personal feeling is that I’m going to be on the losing side of this argument,” he said. “I think the money aspect to everything else that comes with a dome is going to (win out).
“I’m sure there’ll be a point where I’m sitting at the game with my wife, where I’ll look at her and say, ‘You know what? This is nice, not wearing 10 layers of clothes.’ I know there’s the romantic side of me, from a football tradition standpoint, (that would hate it).”
He’s also a realist. He knows a Broncos stadium with a roof of any kind creates the potential of more available dates for, well, you name it. Concerts. Final Fours. Conventions. Exhibitions.
And if the Broncos plan to become landlords of a stadium district that surrounds their venue, more events also mean more dollars in retail, restaurants, hotels and/or housing.
Steve Huffman, president-elect of Quarterback Club, was in Jacobsen’s corner for years. But after doing the math, he’s softened his stance.
“You want to be able to use the facility as many days as possible,” Huffman said. “Imagine if you don’t get rained out of a Metallica concert and you can set up two days in advance. Imagine if you could host a Final Four.”
To wit: City leaders in San Antonio estimated the economic impact of having the 2025 Men’s Basketball Final Four along the River Walk earlier this year at $440 million. New Orleans announced an impact of $1.25 billion for their community this past winter for Super Bowl LIX.
“A retractable dome seems to be the future of the NFL,” Huffman said. “I think it serves multiple purposes, right? You can open the dome for decent weather days and if it’s cold and blizzardy, you can close it. I think for the comfort, players’ safety, overall, I’m now in support (of it).”
Huffman just hopes the cost of whatever a post-2030 Broncos home becomes isn’t passed on to Broncos fans. Especially the longtime faithful.
“I would think the hope would be, speaking for the fans, toward keeping it affordable to where the Broncos fans are the ones populating the seats,” Huffman said. “If tickets go up 30-40%, if you’re pricing out a lot of the historical fans, that’s where I’m more concerned.”
Huffman’s been to every home playoff game in Broncos history. He’s held a leadership position with the Quarterback Club for almost two decades. And, as he’s pointed out to Jacobsen, the Arizona Cardinals play under a retractable roof with natural grass. There’s a path. There’s a precedent.
“There’s always that subsection that goes, ‘We need to be in the elements,’” Huffman said. “I don’t think that’s where the future is going … there are a lot of mixed fan emotions. There are just die-hards that want to freeze their tails off and think that’s the advantage.”
As for a roof that’s only used in the winter or early spring, well, Jacobsen gets the argument. His rebuttal is an anecdote. Or rather, an exchange he had with a Dallas fan in Arlington while attending a Broncos-Cowboys game at Jerry World.
“Man, it’s a beautiful day,” Tom said to the Dallas supporter. “Why is the roof closed?”
“Dude,” the guy replied. “Jerry’s opened that roof like, twice. That roof is never open.”
Jacobsen’s jaw dropped.
“I know it’s been open more than that,” he continued. “But his point was, they defaulted to having that thing closed.”
From 1990-2024, NFL playoff teams from domes have put up a Rockies-esque 13-49 record in outdoor postseason games. Since 2009, when Jerry Jones moved his Cowboys to AT&T Stadium, which features a retractable roof, Dallas has posted a 4-7 playoff record. The ‘Boys are 3-3 at home.
Ya know, maybe Jacobsen’s romantic side has a point.
“I understand the dome means Super Bowl. The dome means concerts,” he chuckled. “I don’t care. That’s not where the Broncos play. The Broncos play in the snow.”
Tom’s willing to die on that hill, too. So long as horses can eat on it.
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