DENVER — With the recent announcement of Denver’s National Women’s Soccer League, excitement continues in the Mile High City.
City leaders got an up-close look at the proposed stadium site on Saturday morning as officials continue to weigh the $70 million price tag.
“Just imagine, when you're sitting 10 or 20 rows up. It's incredible,” said Matthew Breest with Populous Architects, the firm designing the stadium.
Leaders got to visualize these stadium views from the top of the South Pedestrian Bridge at Broadway Station, which currently goes nowhere -– but offers sweeping views of what the area could be at the proposed Santa Fe Yards stadium site.
“After committee last week, people had a lot of questions, and I found myself trying to explain what the site is, where the site is, and how my community is divided by the train tracks and the river and the highway. It's a challenge,” said District 7 Councilmember Flor Alvidrez, who facilitated Saturday’s tour.
Those questions came after the team's ownership group proposed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City of Denver and Broadway Station Metropolitan District to the South Platte River Committee earlier in April.
The agreement would establish the permitted use of city funds and give the city future interest in the land. However, it also means the city would have to put $70 million on the line, which raised concerns for some Denver City Council members.
“We really have to be careful about our dollars. I think that goes without saying,” said At-Large Councilmember Sarah Parady.
The stadium's total cost is estimated to be between $150-200 million.
Architects walked through site plans during the tour, which included the stadium and a new community park (Vanderbilt Park East).
“We're having an open horseshoe configuration where the bowl actually faces back to the community and back to the park,” explained Breest. “It was so important with the ownership team and the league."
The proposed stadium site would include mixed-use development with affordable housing. Improving connectivity between the site and southwest Denver neighborhoods like Ruby Hill and Athmar Park is also a major priority in the proposal.
“I think once you live [in those neighborhoods], you realize how hard it is to get access to the rest of the city,” said Alvidrez.
Plans to establish a long-term community vision for southwest Denver are in the works, too, with the city recently releasing its first draft of its Southwest Area Plan. Residents are invited to give their input at an open house on April 26.
“As Denver continues to grow, the community needs and the neighborhood needs can be incorporated into the decision-making process,” said senior city planner Fernando Abbud.
According to the city's latest economic analysis, released on Friday, the stadium and surrounding development could have up to $2.2 billion in economic impact over a 30-year time frame.
This is not the first time plans have been made to redevelop the site, which once housed the old Gates Rubber Factory.
That factory was demolished in 2007. Shortly after, the recession hit, halting any redevelopment plans.
At one point, it was the potential site for Amazon’s second headquarters, but the company ultimately decided to go elsewhere.
Denver’s former economic development director, Eric Hiraga, remembers those failed redevelopment efforts – but this time, he says, it feels different.
“Denver has grown, and this is one of the last prime opportunities to develop with the light rail station right here,” he said. “So, I think things are different today.”
South Platte River Committee members will consider whether to forward the plan to the full council on Wednesday, April 23.
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