Penner pushes for a 2031 Broncos stadium, not a bigger stake in the Rockies

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner said he’s zeroed in on getting shovels in the ground so the team can open its new Denver stadium in 2031 and not in becoming majority owner of Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies.

Penner and his wife, Carrie Walton Penner, bought a 40% interest in the baseball club earlier this year.

“Right now, we’re just focused on being supportive minority partners," Penner said Tuesday, adding that Rockies chairman & CEO Dick Monfort and owner/general partner Charlie Monfort "are in full control, and we’re going to do what we can to support them.”

Penner also said the Broncos haven't decided whether personal seat licenses will be a part of the new football stadium they're hoping to build at Burnham Yard near downtown Denver.

“Really, it’s the furthest thing from our minds right now," Penner said, noting the site where the team has purchased nearly $200 million in land is "still a ‘preferred’ site, but it's not finalized that we're going to be in that location.

“Obviously, that’s where we really want to be,” Penner said. "So really, we haven’t even gotten to PSLs yet. Our season ticket holders are vital to our organization and we’re going to keep them informed every step of the way once we get there.”

The Broncos this week closed a deal to purchase six parcels owned by a concrete company spanning nearly 10 acres in the northern part of the club’s planned stadium and surrounding mixed-use district at Burnham Yard. SRM Concrete had been one of the longest-running holdouts in the new stadium site but there remains more deals that need to be made within the community and the city to solidify the site as the team's future home, replacing Empower Field at Mile High.

The complexities of building the stadium and mixed-use district near downtown make for a challenging timeline.

“I think everybody involved in the process has the intent to do the right thing, is trying to do the right thing, but it’s a lot of moving pieces, and it is complex," he said. "Our focus is squarely on the 2031 opening and trying to get that done but it’s not going to be easy.”

“You don’t want to start these massive projects without most, or if not all, of your ducks lined up because you’re going to end up spending a lot more money,” Penner explained. "So we’re going to do it right and when we start, we’ll do it expeditiously.”

Penner said renderings of the new stadium are still in the works. It'll have a natural grass field and a retractable roof: “We want the skydivers to be able to land,” he said with a laugh.

On the football front, Penner said he hasn't begun contemplating a long-term extension for quarterback Bo Nix, who's entering his third NFL season, and he said he gave coach Sean Payton a new five-year deal in alignment with GM George Paton's new deal because he likes the way they work together.

Penner spoke at the Broncos' new $175 million headquarters that opened last month. He said he and Carrie Walton Penner gave Dick Monfort a tour of the facility Tuesday.

Penner said becoming a minority investor in the Rockies came about over a series of breakfasts he had with Dick Monfort over the last several years following the Walton Penner group's purchase of the Broncos.

“I think they were ready to bring on a partner, and we couldn’t be more excited about doing something here in the Denver market,” Penner said. "(We) have grown up baseball fans, as well, and as you know, it’s a terrific fan base, ballpark, and we’re really pleased to join the ownership group there.”

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