Owner Greg Penner on next stadium: Broncos pursuing 'best option for next 40 to 50 years'

PALM BEACH, Fla.

The NFL not long ago celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Greg Penner wouldnt mind having a stadium that is around for the 150th season.

The Broncos owner on Monday addressed ongoing plans for a possible new stadium at the NFL owners meetings at The Breakers resort.

And hes thinking about way down the road.

Were really focused on whats the best option long-term, Penner said.

Were thinking, and we want to create, whats the best option for the next 40 or 50 years, not the next 10 or 20 years.

It is uncertain if Empower Field at Mile High will end up being the Broncos home for more than 30 years.

The stadium opened in 2001 and the current lease expires after the 2030 season.

We havent ruled anything out, said Penner, whose Broncos will play their 66th season in 2025 in the NFL, which will play its 106th season.

Were still looking at the current site, other sites around Denver, Lone Tree, Aurora.

We dont have a set timetable for making a decision.

We obviously have our lease that ends at a certain date, which is a date that we could focus on.

It could be something that would happen earlier than that.

If we needed to, we could be in our current stadium longer.

It marked the first time Penner has mentioned Aurora as a possible site.

Penner reiterated the Broncos are considering multiple options for a new stadium.

For the Broncos to play host to a Super Bowl, a Final Four or a college football title game, they would need a stadium with a roof.

Thats definitely one of the options were evaluating whether itd be a dome or a retractable roof, Penner said.

Thats in the consideration set.

Broncos president Damani Leech said the Broncos have spent plenty of time on the stadium subject, researching and talking to teams that have recently built new stadiums or are currently building one.

Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minnesota have newer stadiums, and Buffalo and Tennessee are currently in the building process.

Id say you have a healthy amount of pressure, Leech said of the stadium situation.

The lease ending is certainly a stake in the ground of time, but we are not holding ourselves to that to say, We absolutely have to have something by that year.

The components of what happens, though, I think, is real and important to think about.

Stadiums generally take about 48 months to build from a construction standpoint.

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Were starting to build out those calendars to get a better understanding of once you do decide what you want to do how long its going to take.

For the immediate future, the Broncos are working on plans for training camp due to ongoing construction at Broncos Park.

Work started last year on a new practice facility and wil be completed in 2026.

Its not going to be perfect this year, Penner said.

Well probably come up with something where we could accommodate 800-900 fans in some temporary bleachers.

Well have it open.

I dont know the exact number, but well have a number of practices that are open to fans.

Leech said training camp will have challenges.

The people movement will be something that we spend a lot of time and energy on, Leech said.

Our fans coming to the facility, our player families, wives and kids coming to the facility, our partners coming to the facility, how they get in and get out.

Not from a safety standpoint.

I think we have that under control.

But its just new.

Broncos officials have dismissed training camp being held elsewhere.

As for the regular season, Leech is hoping they will take an extended road trip.

Leech said nothing is official about Denver playing an international game in 2025, but that he and coach Sean Payton have a preference when it comes to two possible European destinations.

The Broncos are scheduled to play Indianapolis on the road, and the Colts are confirmed to be the home team for the first NFL game in Berlin.

Denver also is scheduled to play at the New York Jets, and they have a game scheduled for London.

Berlin is the first choice with London being the second choice, Leech said.

Sean really vocalized his interest in playing in Germany.

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He likes the team being alone-ish together and what that does from a culture standpoint with the team.

He likes the idea of being first and playing in a city like Berlin..

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