Some names matter more than money, and Mile High Stadium is one of them

Good morning, Broncos Country!

The new Denver Broncos stadium is top of mind.

Earlier this week, the organization held a community information meeting for the proposed and “preferred” site at Burnham Yard. It was there that Broncos team president Damani Leech released initial site plans for where this new stadium could go, and what it could look like. Despite the cries for more parking, this was a good first step for the Broncos and the surrounding community.

“All of the feedback we get when people ask a question, we’re required

to provide an answer to it and submit it to the city,” Leech said to the media after the meeting. “There’s a lot of anxiousness that we’ve heard from individuals about ‘What’s this going to be?’ That’s understandable. It’s a large development that’s in your neighborhood. Hopefully, people came away (from the meeting) feeling better informed, but also understanding that we’re really early in the process, so there’s an opportunity to give us their feedback.”

MHR writer Jess Place recently gave his early wish list for the new stadium and what should be included.

I have a simple request: Name it Mile High Stadium.

Since the current stadium opened in 2001, the Broncos have sold the naming rights to Invesco and Empower. No one calls it anything other than Mile High Stadium, and no one will call the new stadium whatever corporate name is put on it. The current ownership group also doesn’t “need” the money from the stadium naming rights. I know, billionaires are always on the hunt for more, and there is never enough.

The current deal with Empower was signed in 2019 and runs through 2039. The stadium naming rights reportedly bring in $5 million annually, with $3 million going to the Metropolitan Football Stadium District. Since the Broncos will fund the construction of the new stadium on their own, not including the surrounding infrastructure, there really isn’t a need for this district going forward. And since the horrid Joe Ellis is responsible for this current deal, anything involving him needs to be erased from this franchise’s history.

Call this an ode to Broncos fans and the history.

If the current ownership group is hellbent on selling the naming rights to get as much out of this as possible, give fans the option to start a public fund to name it Mile High Stadium.

“I want friends and family to come into Denver and ask where they should go, and everybody to say, ‘Burnham Yard,'” Leech said after the meeting.

It would mean even more if they said “Mile High Stadium.”