LONDON (AP) — Broncos coach Sean Payton’s “culture of high expectations” has changed the trajectory of the team since the last time Denver played in London, owner and CEO Greg Penner said Friday.
In a state-of-the-Broncos media session, Penner praised Payton’s impact, addressed his willingness to reward young standout players and confirmed the team would love to host a Super Bowl at its planned new stadium.
The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group bought the franchise in August 2022 for a then-record $4.65 billion.
Broncos want to host Super Bowl in new stadium
The team recently announced Burnham Yard as the preferred site for a proposed new stadium. The target completion date is the 2031 season, which the team has said aligns with the expiration of their lease at Empower Field at Mile High.
NFL owners usually try to host a Super Bowl in their new stadiums.
“We’d certainly be excited about that,” Penner said. “As we’re thinking about the stadium, our first and primary focus is on what’s best for our team, our players and our fans. Then you get to the next step of, OK, we want to have some flexibility. It’s the reason why we’re looking at a retractable roof.
“Our intent is for our football games to be played with the roof open, in the elements. The exception will be to close the roof,” he added. “It would give us the flexibility to host events like Super Bowls, concerts, other events.”
Progress on the stadium plan
Penner said the process of getting a stadium plan set is still in progress.
“The next step is really engaging with community leaders, working on a small area plan. We’ve had a lot of outreach to city council members. We’ve talked with them on the phone, Carrie [Walton Penner]’s met with a number of them. So, we’re gonna keep that going. And our goal is to be very open with the process and transparent. We think we have a real opportunity to create something special, not just with the stadium, but the development around it for the city of Denver and all of our fans.”
The team is still in the beginning part of the stadium timeline, Penner said.
“We’re still in the early phases of design. We’ve got a number of consultants we’re working with. We have not selected a contractor yet, but we’ve got world-class architects that we’re talking to and no hard date yet on when we’re gonna when we’re gonna hire those folks.”
FOX31’s Phil Rankin contributed to this story from Denver.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
