The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group bought the Denver Broncos in August 2022 for $4.65 billion, which, considering they are the heirs to the Walmart fortune, is probably just pocket change to them. This was an historic moment for Denver and Colorado - people here are obsessed with the Broncos. There are reports about them on the local television news and in the Denver Post all year round, often taking precedence over stories on the Colorado Rockies, even during baseball season. And as soon as the purchase was finalized, the discussion turned to whether Empower Field at Mile High, the football stadium the Broncos currently call home, would be replaced. Many thought this would be a frivolous waste of money, since the stadium is only 24 years old, having been built in 2001. But recently, the team announced that they were indeed going to build a new stadium at Burnham Yard, a former railroad yard south of downtown and located less than a mile southeast of Empower Field, seen in the photograph above. The reasons, according to the ownership group, include the need for a retractable roof to allow the stadium to become a year-round venue (and host a Superbowl), and the opportunity to build a mixed-use development with bars, restaurants, retail outlets, hotels, housing, entertainment venues, office spaces, and public spaces. And it will be privately financed by the Walton-Penner group, at a cost estimated to be around another $4 billion. To me, it still seems like a waste to abandon a relatively new stadium like Empower Field. You could build a mixed-use development around the current stadium, and to hell with retractable roofs and hosting a Superbowl. And I would also advise the Walton-Penner Group to remember the wise words of the late Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen: "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money."
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