Hundreds of people packed into the La Alma Recreation Center to hear from the Broncos about the latest plans for the team’s preferred stadium site in Burnham Yard — and share what they want to see in the new development.
These “preliminary concepts” weren’t for the new stadium itself, but rather for the surrounding area in the decommissioned railyard in Denver’s La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood. The massive mixed-use development is expected to cover 150 acres southwest of downtown, between 13th and Sixth avenues.
Wilma Jones, a cyclist who lives on the west side of La Alma Lincoln Park, was at the meeting and said her biggest concern was mobility for pedestrians, cyclists and public transit users.
“The complaint I had with the current stadium is that every time there's a game, if you take the W line, (it) will say, ‘Due to the Bronco game, blah, blah, blah, blah, this station is closed,’” Jones said. “Remember, everybody paid for RTD. Our tax dollars should go to everybody, not just the benefit for the Bronco games. This (can’t) happen again for the new stadium. If that happens, RTD is doomed.”
This was the second public meeting the Broncos have held around the new stadium, with the first one happening last November. Public transportation, walkability and parking concerns were brought up at both meetings.
During this presentation, the team said that they were listening to residents' concerns, especially around mobility and the light rail.
Burham Yard is the preferred site for the new stadium and all that surrounding development, but the Broncos still have a lot of work to do with many collaborators, at both the city and state level.
“We really want to respect the overall process. It's important to respect the city council's role in this, the mayor's office's role in this, all of these different entities,” said Damani Leech, president of the Denver Broncos. “And also make sure we get the right community input before we can say this is actually where it's going to be.”
‘Welcome to the Thunderground’
One neighborhood group was there to promote its idea for the Burnham Yard development: an underground light rail.
Scott Young was passing out buttons with slogans like “Drop The Rail” and “Welcome to the Thunderground.”
Young and a neighborhood group he’s a part of are trying to spread the idea of RTD building an underground rail through 13th Street.
“If it went underground, then the pedestrians could walk through, and it would connect this area, this park, all of the area to this new development,” Young said.
It’s not just him and his group that are now pushing for the underground light rail. Jones, the cyclist, said this could be something that cements the Broncos’ legacy in the neighborhood.
“We are hoping, because relatively speaking, they don't have to demolish a lot of things. So the cost to build something great is not that high,” Jones said. “This is the best chance to take the opportunity to do it. If the Broncos do that, everybody in Denver would remember them and say, ‘See how great that place is. The Broncos did it right? The Broncos brought us such nice things.’”
Young and the group have been to different community meetings to share this idea, but added that he isn’t sure how closely the city or the team is listening.
“It's a presentation now and it feels a little heavy-handed all of a sudden because they’re almost done with what they want to do,” Young said. “It'd be nice to be able to have the discussion about this light rail in the future of that area.”
What’s next for the stadium (including that retractable roof)
The Broncos plan to obtain construction permits as soon as January 2027, with hopes that the team plays its first game in the stadium during the 2031 season.
Team owners say the stadium will be privately financed. However, the Broncos may pursue benefits such as tax-increment financing, which would reimburse construction costs using tax dollars generated by the project.
This would allow the team to effectively reduce the tax bills for the development and instead spend that money on infrastructure. Advocates argue it’s a way to catalyze new development and ultimately benefit the city.
The eventual stadium will be supported by $100 million in city-funded improvements made possible by last year’s voter-approved bond measure. One change will upgrade public streets around the neighborhood to account for more traffic.
The team plans to build a retractable roof, which would make it attractive to concerts and other large events beyond football.
But Leech with the Broncos said there currently isn’t a release date for stadium renderings.
“We know it's something that people are excited about,” Leech said. “There's a lot of great AI images online for it. Some good ideas there, but no timeline for that.”
Denverite's Paolo Zialcita contributed to this story.
