Greg Penner shares one new detail under consideration for future Broncos stadium

It’s not if but when for a new Denver Broncos stadium, and everyone seems to know it. While there weren’t many updates from the NFL Owners Meetings about the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group’s big plans for the team’s new digs, one detail did slip out—the team will consider a dome.

While some in the orange and blue faithful will be disappointed to learn that one day there will be no more snow games in the Mile High City, residents of the area and the Broncos owners are likely looking at all the options that open up for having a roof.

With a top, either a retractable roof or just a dome, the Broncos could host the Super Bowl, NFL Draft, Final Four, bowl games, and giant concerts in the winter.

In the past, Denver hosted the 1990 Final Four at McNichols Sports Arena, but the NCAA has largely hosted its premier event at football stadiums since then. And the Mile High City could host the NFL Draft right now at a city park or the Colorado Convention Center; an NFL stadium as the home base could make that event coming to Denver more of a reality. Adding a roof opens up a lot of revenue opportunities for the Broncos’ owners.

“That’s definitely one of the options we’re evaluating, whether it be a dome or a retractable roof; that’s in the consideration set,” Greg Penner said on Monday.

Fans will likely want the best of both worlds with a retractable roof; that way, they can soak in the sunshine at summer concerts and warm Broncos games but also have a home to host some of the country’s biggest events.

“I don’t always agree with what the opinions are, but when you have fans like our fanbase, they’re going to be passionate and have strong views, and I would never want that to go away,” Penner said. “We put that survey out on the stadium a year or two ago, and it was completely mixed on what fans wanted.”

Where the site of this possibly roofed mega building will be is still just about anyone’s guess, though Penner mentioned a new jurisdiction on Monday when he noted Aurora.

“We’re continuing our diligence, it’s complex, we haven’t ruled anything out,” Penner said. “We’re still looking at our current site, other sites around Denver, Lone Tree, Aurora. We don’t have a set timetable for making a decision. We have a lease that ends at a certain date, and we can focus on that, but it could be something that happens earlier than that (date, or we could be in our current stadium for longer. We don’t have a set timetable at this point.”

The Broncos’ lease on Empower Field at Mile High expires in 2030, and the team is focused on not rushing into a new building but instead setting up the best situation possible for the next 50 years. Could that spot be Aurora? Colorado’s third-largest city is close to one of the country’s biggest airports and has other benefits. As does Lone Tree, a site we already knew about. One interesting aspect being overlooked is how much the current site has been overlooked by the public but continues to get mentioned by ownership.

A new football stadium is coming to the Denver area and it sure seems like adding a dome to it would set the metro up best for the next 50 years, which is the stated goal.