The Denver Broncos made a groundbreaking announcement on Tuesday when the organization revealed that Burnham Yard had officially been identified as the “preferred” site for a new stadium in the early 2030s. There were plenty of good aspects that were revealed about the stadium, including the fact that it would be privately funded, but some fans weren’t too fond of the concept of a retractable roof.
Rest assured, Broncos Country. Just because the roof can be closed doesn’t mean that it will be closed whenever a hint of weather makes its way to the Front Range.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston joined Richie Carni on Thursday’s edition of The Rundown on Denver Sports to talk all things about the new stadium, a project that he has been heavily involved in. He emphasized the importance of the opportunities that it will bring to the Mile High City, with the possibility of events like the Super Bowl and the Final Four coming to town down the road.
“[The retractable roof] is first of all critical for the Super Bowl, also critical for things like [the] Final Four… they don’t do final fours in basketball stadiums anymore. They’re all football stadiums. They got to be indoors. So those types of events are true,” Johnston said.
The Super Bowl has never been held in Denver. For the Final Four in men’s college basketball, the only time it made its way to the Mile High City was in 1990, when it was held in the old McNichols Sports Arena. Being able to host these events will bring in a large stream of revenue to businesses around the town, and make Denver a more notable sports destination. Even though there are three championship-contending teams in town currently, the city hasn’t attracted any tier one, major events in decades.
Then, there’s the other side of the argument. Many fans expressed concerns that a retractable roof would take away from the environment that makes Denver so difficult to play in late in the calendar.
Johnston had a counter for that argument, and the Broncos fan in him made sure to take a shot at the Las Vegas Raiders in the process.
“The Broncos and I are aligned,” Johnston said. “That does not mean they’re going to be closing the roof on Monday night if it’s snowing and the Raiders are in town, you absolutely let it dump on them.”
On average, the Broncos play in roughly one snow game per year. A lot of things have to line up perfectly for a gameday to coincide with a snowstorm, and those days are few and far between. The mayor emphasized that the roof won’t result in the elimination of snow games, and that it’s going to bring the best of both worlds to the city.
“I think it’s gonna be the best of both worlds. You still get real Denver weather, but you can host any event you want in the world,” Johnston said.