The decision isn’t cast in stone just yet, but it seems safe to assume that the new Broncos stadium will be at Burnham Yard, which the Walton-Penner Group recently announced as its preferred location.
That’s fine with me. It’s their money.
But since they can afford to finance the massive project privately, allow me to suggest that they forego selling naming rights for what currently is referred to merely as “New Broncos Stadium” and revert to the team’s former home designation.
When I arrived in Denver in 1982, our city was home to arguably the most iconically named stadium in all of professional sports.
Mile High Stadium
Those three words immediately said, “Denver,” “Rocky Mountains” and a place unlike any other.
What a name!
Attaching a sponsor’s name and the word “at” in front of “Mile High” or “Mile High Stadium” sullied its charm.
Bring it back.
How many other classic names have been reduced commercially over the years, either by adding a sponsor, abandoning the original identity entirely or actually replacing the stadium itself?
Dozens!
In San Francisco, windy, inhospitable Candlestick Park—a name almost as unique as Mile High Stadium—was replaced by the first privately financed ballpark and now is known as Oracle Park—it’s fourth name since opening on April 11, 2000 away from open water, in China Basin.
Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium, another distinctive name, has been replaced with not one but two venues: PNC Park for the Pirates and Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) for the Steelers.
Lambeau Field in Green Bay has managed to withstand the rush to naming rights as a source of additional revenue, but the site dedicated to another pro football pioneer hasn’t been as successful.
Paul Brown Stadium, publicly funded home of the Cincinnati Bengals, named for another legendary coach, became Paycor Stadium in 2022 for an undisclosed sum under a 16-year agreement. (Paycor was acquired by Paychex early this year, which could change the name again.)
That arrangement leaves Lambeau and Chicago’s Soldier Field the only National Football League venues without naming rights deals.
Major League Baseball, meanwhile, still has Fenway Park (named for the neighborhood in which its located) and Wrigley Field (named for the Cubs’ long-time owner rather than a naming rights deal) and two ball yards whose franchises don’t need to sell their souls: Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium.
When the Broncos announced Burnham Yard as the “preferred site” of a new stadium last month, CEO Greg Penner said, “It’s our goal to have world-class facilities for this team—and for our fans, obviously—with the rich tradition and history at Mile High . . .”
Added co-owner Carrie Walton Penner, his spouse: “From Day One, when we got here, we have been thinking about what a future stadium and home for the Broncos might look like. (This) leans into the history of Denver.”
That all sounds good. But it will ring hollow if the new stadium winds up with another corporate ID.
The Broncos’ story announcing the “preferred site” expressly stated that “the stadium and mixed-use district will be funded through a private investment from the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group . . .”
That, combined with the price paid for the team ($4.65 billion), the $175 million investment in upgraded training and administrative facilities now under construction at Broncos Park, and an estimated $100 million in other improvements such as replacing the turf at Empower Field during last season, makes a clear statement that Walton-Penner can afford to skip monetizing the new stadium’s name.
The emphasis on optimizing the Burnham Yard site would also seem to make it more effective to limit the stadium’s name to simply Mile High Stadium.
“One of our goals is to make sure that we are engaging community members 365 days a year in the area around the stadium,” Walton Penner said.
“So, it’s not something that will just have a large parking lot around it, but really creating some place that’s special that people leave and talk about and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, when you come to Denver, you’ve got to be here at Burnham Yard.’”
A new Broncos stadium is projected to open for the 2031 season, which coincides with the end of the team’s current Empower Field lease.
Here’s hoping they move into the new Mile High Stadium when that time comes.
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Denny Dressman’s 17th book, a collaboration with Kansas City artist Anthony High titled Black Baseball’s Heyday – Capturing An Era in Art and Words, will be published late this year. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.