Several teams are building and/or trying to build new stadiums. The Broncos are in the “trying to build” category.
And the key word is “trying.”
“It’s been almost a year since we announced Burnham Yard as our preferred site,” Broncos president Damani Leech told reporters on Sunday. “It remains our preferred site. We’re laser focused on delivering it by 2031. It’s been a great effort by ownership, ourselves, the staff, the city.
“I’ve got to be honest, I wish we were further along in some areas than we are now. I think areas where we do control, particularly real estate, you mentioned Burnham Yard, real estate, engaging with the community, we’ve done site tours of the location, the design of the stadium continues to evolve, the master plan continues to evolve. All of those things are moving along really, really well, but we also understand that we can’t do this alone.
“There are certain things we don’t control. I think as an example, the community benefits process is something that we can’t control. We’ve had a lot of initial great discussions with community representatives. More recently here, it’s been on more of a staff level. We’re eager to engage with those community members directly, understand what they’re looking for, what needs and interests they have on the development. Things like that, we have to continue to progress. We said many months ago, this is an ambitious timeline, so for that to happen, we need everybody to be involved. We can’t do it alone in order to get to 2031.”
Leech said opening the stadium by 2031 is “still achievable for sure,” but that “everybody has to be involved.”
Is there frustration with the process?
“I’ll be honest, there are days when I have concern,” Leech said, “there are days when I have frustration because you can’t control it all, so I think that’s fair.”
On one hand, five years is forever. On the other hand, it’ll fly by. Regardless of where it goes from here, it’s clear that it hasn’t gone the way the Broncos would like.
