PALM BEACH, Fla. — Broncos CEO and owner Greg Penner on Monday said the club is planning for “the next 40-50 years” as it works through deciding whether to build a new stadium and reiterated that all options remain on the table.
Penner added Aurora to a list of that includes Denver and Lone Tree as municipalities the team has considered for a new stadium site. The Broncos have also consistently said they could decide to remain on the current Empower Field site and either renovate that stadium or rebuild.
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One of the key decisions, of course, is where the Broncos will call home, whether it’s on the current site or a new one in the future.
“A lot of things go into it,” Penner told reporters Monday at the NFL’s spring owners meetings here. “One is working with different government entities, whether it’s state or city. It’s also where our fans are and where they want to be. Where can we do, if we’re going to, do development? Which, as you know, there was a plan on our current site for development, so that’s definitely an option that would go around the stadium.
“There’s a number of things that go into it.”
Most stadium builds now include some form of commercial real estate development, whether it’s a block or an entire neighborhood or district. Those developments provide both enhanced revenue streams but also vehicles for public-private partnerships.
“We’re really focused on what’s the best option long-term,” Penner said. “We’re thinking we want to create what’s the best option for the next 40-50 years, not the next 10-20 years.”
Penner also said the club hadn’t ruled out a new stadium or renovation project including a dome. Such enclosed stadiums allow for events like the NCAA’s Final Four, Super Bowls, year-round concerts and more.
“It’s definitely one of the options we’re evaluating, whether it be a dome or retractable roof,” Penner said. “That’s in the considerations.”
The Broncos’ lease with the Metropolitan Football Stadium District runs through the 2030 season. Given that most recently completed or in-progress stadium projects in the NFL take roughly four years from announcement to finish, the clock is ticking. But Penner said Monday that the club still has plenty of time.
“We don’t have a set timetable for making a decision,” he said. “We obviously have our lease at a certain date, which is a date we can focus on. But it could be something that could happen earlier than that. If we needed to, we could be in our current stadium longer.”
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