PSLs or Personal Seat Licenses are a hot-button topic in Broncos Country right now. First, what exactly are PSLs? They are a one-time fee to secure the exclusive right to purchase season tickets for specific seats. It has become a new trendy thing in the sports landscape recently. The Buffalo Bills are doing PSLs for their newly opened Highmark Stadium and reportedly made nearly $260 million dollars
The
outrage amongst Broncos fans started when Team President Damani Leech was asked at the start of training camp if a decision had been made when it comes to implementing PSLs. Leech noted that most, if not all, new stadiums built in the past 10+ years had them issued and that they are a “pretty likely thing to happen”, but did say no formal decision had been made at that time.
“As you know, I think every stadium in the last 10-plus years that’s been built, there have been PSLs issued. So it seems like it’s a pretty likely thing to happen, but we haven’t made any formal decisions on that.”
Well, on Tuesday, Denver Broncos Owner and CEO Greg Penner met with the media and was also asked about PSLs. Unlike Leech, who made it sound like a formality, Penner told reporters that PSLs are “the furthest thing from our minds right now” and that they have so many steps before they reach that point.
“Really, it’s the furthest thing from our minds right now. We’re so focused on… We’ve had so many steps before that as I just mentioned. It’s still a preferred site but it’s not finalized that we’re going to be in that location. Obviously, that’s where we really want to be. So really, we haven’t even gotten to PSLs yet. Our season ticket holders are vital to our organization and we’re going to keep them informed every step of the way once we get there.”
While Penner did avoid the question, it sure does seem like Leech showed the Broncos’ hand a bit there. PSLs are becoming a normal thing in the sports landscape, and as he put it, “It’s a pretty likely thing to happen”, which sucks for Broncos season ticket holders who will need to pay an extra fee just to have the right to purchase season tickets.
As for the Broncos’ new stadium, while they continue to make progress on that, Penner told reporters that there’s still a lot of work to do and “We can’t do it by ourselves”.
“Yes, we’re making some progress, especially on the things that are really in our control. You all saw the property that we closed on yesterday which was an important step. Really good progress with our architect and also the master plan. This is a process for some of the other steps that we need a lot of collaboration with different groups whether it be the CBA process, Denver Water relocation, city approvals—there’s still a lot of work to do and the 2031 timeline is aggressive. We can’t do it by ourselves.
He added they want to have the stadium built and open by the 2031 season, which is an aggressive timeline, and added that they want to keep the Broncos home in Denver.
“I don’t know that it’s been more frustrating than I thought. We went into this knowing [that] if you’re going to do a project of this scale, and we knew when we started focusing on this site specifically, that it was going to be more challenging, but we also really want to stay in Denver if we can and deliver a stadium in this market that is a vital part of the downtown. But if you’re doing a project in an area like that, it’s just harder. So I think we went in with our eyes wide open about the challenges, and we’ll keep working through it.”
So, as fans, we just need to wait and see how this progresses. It’s going to involve a lot of money being traded hands, purchases, probably lawyers, and compromises by all parties if they want to get this done. It sounds like they’re making progress, but still have a few remaining hurdles before they can reach the finish line.
Hopefully, the Broncos can remain in Denver and bring the local fans a brand new stadium and experience they deserve for being one of the best and most loyal fan bases in sports.
