Former Denver Mayor Has Novel Idea About Naming Rights for the Broncos Stadium
Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb came up with a novel idea of how to deal with the naming rights to the Denver Broncos' stadium since they no longer have a sponsor. His idea gave me an even broader idea for naming rights.
If you remember, when the stadium was built it was Invesco Field at Mile High and then Sports Authority Field. When the latter went bankrupt, the Denver Broncos lost the money they were receiving for the naming rights.
Without that sponsor, the Broncos are responsible for Sports Authority's remaining monetary contribution to the stadium. Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb has a solution to that problem, let fans and businesses buy-in.
Residents in Denver paid a special assessment tax to helped fund the construction of the stadium. So, reviving that is one thought. The other takes a cue from the Green Bay Packers whose fans can own shares of the team. So, why not do the same for the Broncos except instead of the team, the stadium?
Either Mayor Webb's solution of selling Coloradans shares, or my thought that all of Colorado, rather than just a few counties, pay a Broncos tax seems feasible. A statewide tax would bring the per person cost down to pocket change per year, which would be used to maintain and upgrade the stadium and let the Broncos focus on building a Superbowl winning team.
The stadium could really use some work now and in the future. It's estimated over the next 20 years, $650 million will be needed to maintain and upgrade the stadium so whether shares or tax, that's the target amount needed if the citizens pay all of the costs, which they won't because of other stadium revenue.
Anyway, Coloradans would vote on the tax and if it passed, vote on what to name the stadium. A recent poll shows most Broncos fans still love the iconic name Mile High Stadium, so that would be one of the choices on the ballot.
All of this certainly seems like a good idea but, there is one big problem. No, it's not that I don't think voters would pass a Broncos tax or buy shares of the stadium. It's that the Broncos don't want it. To put it bluntly, the Broncos told 9 News in Denver, "We are 100 percent focused on securing a long-term corporate naming rights holder, and we continue to have a productive conversation with prospective partners."
It was a nice to think about owning something other than Denver Broncos clothing and memorabilia. Then again, if the Broncos don't find a corporate sponsor, there seems to be enough interest from Coloradans who would like to have a piece of the brick and mortar of the team.