DENVER — Broncos President Damani Leech shared updates Wednesday on the Broncos' plan for Burnham Yard, including new visuals showcasing concepts for parking and tailgating within the stadium-anchored development.
With an opportunity to join the city's Burnham Yard Small Area Plan meeting, Leech highlighted the ways in which the Broncos have responded to community feedback during the process, particularly as it relates to issues like parking, public transportation, green spaces and more.
"We still believe Burnham Yard has the possibility to be a vibrant addition to this existing neighborhood," Leech said. "A place where neighbors feel comfortable, where our fans feel comfortable, where guests to this place that we're going to build all feel comfortable."
Leech said the changes from the initial draft of the plan in February were guided by feedback from local residents and the city staff.
"We want it to be a place that is connected to the existing neighborhood, a place where people feel connected, where they feel like they can live," Leech said. "A place that remembers and celebrates the history — the great history of this site that goes back hundreds of years. … A place where people feel like they can move and gather … and spend time comfortably in the site. And then, finally, a place where residents, businesses and guests all feel like they can grow and prosper for the next several generations. That is what's guided a lot of what you're going to see."
Among the updates Leech highlighted was more information about parking availability. In the initial phase, Leech said the area would feature a similar amount of surface-area parking to the current setup at Empower Field at Mile High.
"Then we'll get later into Phases 2 and 3, many years later," Leech said. "You'll start to see more buildout. Some of that surface parking gets built on top of. It becomes structured parking. And then you get to full buildout, and that's the image you all saw publicly."
Leech said even after the final phase, the area will feature more than 1,000 surface-area parking spaces to the north and south of the stadium that are designed for tailgating.
Leech also noted the neighborhood should have fewer heavy-rail crossings while featuring added light-rail crossing locations.
"Our expectation: continue to work with the city, the state and RTD to really slow down the trains, bring the noise down," Leech said.
Leech noted RTD trains run at 15 miles per hour in downtown Denver, and the hope is to extend that guidance to the Burnham Yard neighborhood.
In one rendering Leech shared, he showcased the proposed Burnham Yard Parkway that features green space and an area for fans to gather.
"You think about Denver as a city of parkways and green spaces," Leech said. "On game day, it's a place people can pull up cars, park, tailgate, have a really good time, enjoy themselves. And then when you have a non-major event day or a non-game day, it's just a small park where people can go and spend some time, have some great tree canopy, get cool and have a really good time."
As the Broncos work to make the community-inspired ideas reality, Leech noted the need to begin construction by early 2027. But he noted that it's more than a new stadium that's driving the Broncos in the process; it's also about the benefit that the development can bring to residents across the city.
"That's driving a lot of our timeline," Leech said. "But also, [it's about] driving the benefit for this community and others. This location [is] over 130 acres. Plus, Empower Field [at Mile High] — that's over 200 acres of development in the city of Denver that this community and others in Denver can benefit from, the sooner we can get this going. So that's what's driving us on a daily basis."
Leech emphasized a continued message that the Broncos "can't do it alone" as they continue to work toward Phase 1 of the proposed neighborhood. As part of that process, he pledged the Broncos would continue to seek, listen to and incorporate community feedback.
"As many people as we can meet with to try to listen and understand, we've tried to do that," Leech said. "And we'll continue to do that for the next several months and years through the end of this project."
