DENVER — Denver sports teams are giving fans an early Christmas present, with the Nuggets, Avalanche and Broncos all piling up wins.
The Nuggets are among the favorites to win this year’s NBA title, the Avalanche are on pace to break the NHL record for most team points in a season, and the Broncos have now won nine straight games while eyeing an AFC West title.
“This is the best time to be out here,” Nuggets fan David Jenkins told Denver7 outside Ball Arena on Monday night. “I think Colorado sports is spot on, for sure, for sure, right now.”
This fall, Denver7 took a 360 look at the city's sports scene and how new stadium development could transform the future.
Derek Friedman, owner of Sportsfan stores in the Denver metro, is seeing those wins pay off.
“Versus last year, this business is way up,” Friedman said. “I think last year there was a little bit of trepidation trying to figure out what this [Broncos] team really was. But now people understand how special they can really be.”
Jerseys and hats have been hot sellers, Friedman said, and that was before holiday shopping season.
“When we start to get into the later part of the season, a lot of the vendors are running out of stock,” Friedman said. “Obviously, you never want to run out, because people want to come in and they want a particular player, particular color, and I would tell them they should [buy them] now. Because there's so much excitement for this team, that by the time we get to playoffs, there's not going to be much left.”
Broncos gear is in high demand as the team is off to its best start in 10 years.
Broncos gear is in high demand as the team is off to its best start in 10 years.
Sales jump even more during game weekends, Friedman said, and the Broncos seem ready to host their first home playoff game in a decade.
Senior Lecturer of Marketing at Metropolitan State University April Schofield worked back in the late 2000s for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment — which owns the Nuggets and Avalanche.
She said a lot has changed since then, but wins on the scoreboard still often mean wins for business.
“Anything that the teams are making from these playoff games are essentially a bonus, and those things during the playoffs come at a premium price as well,” Schofield explained. “This also kind of boosts their ability to generate sponsorship revenue, so that increased coverage or that increased visibility on TV or different streaming platforms, that can be valued at 10 to hundreds of millions of dollars, so the teams themselves are able to generate more money on the sponsorship.”
The rest of the city feels the economic benefit too, according to Schofield.
“Winning teams attract more out of town fans,” she said. “Depending on the location, hotels can see a 5-20% increase in occupancy on game weekends,” Schofield said.
Friedman said that is frequently what he sees at his business.
The economic impact of Denver sports teams winning
“Just about every time I go into a store... when there's a game weekend, I'm running into people from outside the country, certainly outside the state,” Friedman said. “I think it's important for people to understand how instrumental those teams are to the economy here.”
That economic engine is leading to plans for new stadiums for the Broncos and Summit FC near downtown, and even a new neighborhood to surround Ball Arena.
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