DENVER — Empower Field at Mile High has long been a driver of foot traffic and revenue for nearby small businesses. Now, with the Denver Broncos' plans to move to Denver’s Burnham Yard, business owners in the area are preparing for what the development could mean.
GoDaddy’s Small Business Research Lab recently ranked Denver fifth out of 30 pro football cities for entrepreneurship, highlighting the concentration of micro-businesses across the Mile High City.
“Denver is not necessarily the top five largest cities, but it is number five when it comes to entrepreneurship and how many small businesses there are,” said Alexandra Rosen, global head of the GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab. “It shows entrepreneurship is alive and strong and thriving in the area.”
That entrepreneurial spirit is already shaping the conversation about Burnham Yard, a former railyard just southeast of Empower Field and the planned location for the Broncos’ new home by the 2031 football season.
For Shawna Hogue, co-owner of Shape Plus, the project feels like another chapter in the neighborhood’s evolution. She has operated her gym near Burnham Yard for nearly two decades.
“I think it’s exciting. There’s been a lot of growth in this area since 2007,” Hogue said. “Of course, it’s going to bring more people.”
While she acknowledges the change could be “completely different from what we know now,” she sees opportunity.
“It could balance out the increase of costs with the intake,” Hogue said, noting that rising rents and taxes are always a factor in Denver.
“It's going right behind us,” Dazbog Coffee co-founder Leonid Yuffa said.
“We’re excited. We’ve always been Broncos fans. We want to see them thrive,” Yuffa said. “As long as those plans are thoughtful, inclusive of the community and community-driven, I think it could be great.”
Still, Yuffa worries about the logistics of daily life during construction, from employees getting to work to delivery trucks navigating traffic. And as the area grows, he knows property values — and taxes — will follow.
“It is tougher and tougher for the small guys like us to keep going when the rent is stable, but the taxes go up,” Yuffa said. “We’re hoping that the traffic to our business will compensate for that.”
Despite those concerns, both Hogue and Yuffa say they’re hopeful the new Broncos project will transform the industrial corridor into a vibrant entertainment hub filled with new customers and opportunities.
“We’re excited about the new businesses that are coming here, the new traffic that’s coming here. New customers that will see us for the first time,” Yuffa said. “We’re going to be positive about it and hope for the best.”
