DENVER — Burnham Yard, the historic rail yard in Denver now poised to be the home of a new Broncos stadium, is a “perfect match” for the NFL franchise, Colorado Gov. Polis told Denver7 in the moments after the plans went public.
The potential move is years in the making. The state bought the Burnham Yard property from Union Pacific in 2020 with the intention of turning it into a mixed-use development that included housing.
However, the Walton-Penner ownership group – who bought the Broncos in the summer of 2022 and became the richest owners in American sports – approached the state saying they hoped to build a new stadium.
“We said, ‘We’ve got some land to show you,’ so we took them onto Burnham Yard,” Polis said.
Now, the Broncos will buy the land from the state to build a “mixed-use district” that includes a new, retractable-roof stadium to open in 2030 or 2031. The project will come at no cost to taxpayers, according to the team’s announcement.
“It was really a perfect match, because there are very few sites near downtown Denver [that are] accessible, transit oriented – [there’s an] RTD stop right there – that can meet their criteria,” Polis said Tuesday morning.
With the plans for a new stadium come dreams of Denver hosting its first-ever Super Bowl as early as 2032.
The NFL has announced sites for the next three Super Bowls: San Francisco in 2026, Atlanta in 2027 and New Orleans in 2028. Nothing is official for 2029 and beyond, though new stadiums currently being built in Washington, D.C. (Washington Commanders) and outside Buffalo (Buffalo Bills) will surely be in the running.
Polis said a new Broncos stadium will be used outside of gamedays.
“The ownership group is committed to community partnerships. They want this to be really seen as a community asset,” he said. “So of course it's about the Broncos. Of course it's about the Super Bowl, but it also is going to be utilized for concerts and events throughout the year, as a very popular and accessible venue for Coloradans from across our state to get to and have fun.”