Broncos linked to land grab for potential future stadium: Report
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Burnham Yard, 58-acre railyard in Denver, owned by the state. Photo: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images
A series of secreted land buys in an industrial part of Denver's Lincoln Park neighborhood is driving speculation that the Denver Broncos are eyeing the area for a new stadium, according to BusinessDen.
State of play: A single entity bought 10 properties — ranging from vacant lots to warehouses — near the state-owned Burnham Yard for $146 million in cash, BusinessDen reports.
- The Broncos are behind the purchase, according to the publication, citing a single anonymous source familiar with the team's real estate transactions. The team declined to comment on the properties.
What they're saying: In a statement, a Broncos spokesperson told BusinessDen that "no determinations have been made as we continue to evaluate several options in and around the Denver metro area."
Between the lines: All 10 properties were purchased through generic-named LLCs created within days of each other in 2023.
- Real estate attorney Lea Ann Fowler with law firm Hogan Lovells handled the purchases for the buyer. She's a former colleague of Tim Aragon, the Broncos' general counsel. Fowler didn't respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen.
- Three other adjacent properties not linked to Fowler were bought by LLCs formed in the same period.
The intrigue: In at least two cases, the sellers signed nondisclosure statements prohibiting them from discussing the potential project.
- In some instances, the buyer spent well over market value to obtain the properties. "That warehouse is not worth $47 million," Aviva Sonenreich, a local industrial broker with Warehouse Hotline, told BusinessDen.
- Sonenreich added: "What is worth $47 million? The land … is on the corner of Main and Main in Denver."
The big picture: The talk about where the Broncos stadium will move — or whether they will renovate Empower Field at Mile High — is top of mind in Denver.
- Burham Yard, a former railroad juncture off Interstate 25 is a leading contender for its location near public transit, but it is too small without additional land purchases in the area.
- Other locations for potential stadium sites include Lone Tree and Aurora.
- The Broncos' lease at its current stadium expires in 2031.
Editor's note: This story and headline have been updated to clarify that the story stems from BusinessDen's reporting.