Overview:
Burnham Yard neighbors are divided over the Broncos’ stadium plans, weighing new business against traffic, parking and neighborhood change.
The Denver Broncos have signed an agreement to buy Burnham Yard, a former railyard on the edge of La Alma/Lincoln Park and Baker, and they want a new stadium there by 2031. Residents and businesses in the area see the impact of the potential stadium move differently.
Chris Lane, the general manager of Renegade Brewing, signed a 15-year lease for the brewery over two years ago, long before the Broncos’ plans about building a stadium in Burnham Yard became public. For Lane and the brewery, which is situated about four blocks from the proposed stadium, the news came as a “pleasant surprise.”
When Brian Colonna of Buntport Theater, located only a block away from the proposed site, heard the same news, he felt the opposite.
“I would say that our organization kind of felt worried right away,” Colonna said.
the proposed Burnham Yard stadium redevelopment area. Photo courtesy of Buntport Theater
In September 2025, the Broncos, the city, and the state announced Burnham Yard as the team’s preferred site for a new stadium. The stadium would feature a retractable roof and anchor a mixed-use district.
In May 2026, the team signed a $45.8 million purchase agreement with the state and says they expect a deal to close in the fall of 2026. More recently, Denver released a draft plan in October outlining the plan. City Council is expected to vote on it in January, and construction could begin as early as 2027 for a 2031 opening.
Lane is, by his own account, a sports fan and is excited for the area to embrace Denver’s strong sports culture in his business and the surrounding neighborhood. Specifically, he expects Sundays at the brewery to see a boost in business.
“Right now we’re really not that busy on Sundays,” he said. “On football Sundays, like, we’re not really (busy), even though we have about 10 to 15 TVs. We show all the Broncos games, and we’re just not, like, popping off like it should be. But I expect that to change.”
Still, Lane is not blind to the costs of a stadium that doubles as an event venue in his neighborhood.
“Attention equals resources, equals people, equals less parking,” he said. “So that’s gonna suck. But again, you deal with it for the pros that should hopefully come out of it.”
Lane sees construction and tighter parking as a tradeoff for the additional customers and investment he expects the stadium to bring.
“You got to think, like, this neighborhood has needed a facelift for a while,” he said. “It’s a really cool, grungy part of Denver, but it’s been kind of ignored for a long time.”
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Colonna’s central questions and concerns revolve around parking limitations and construction obstacles, as well as noise pollution that may come with the stadium.
“Will it be harder for our audience to come see shows?” he questioned. “Will it be harder for them to park during shows? What kind of noise pollution is there with the stadium so close? Those are kinds of things for our business as a theater company doing performances that I think worries us.”
Colonna is also concerned that the stadium could overwhelm the area’s strong arts identity.
“I think too often these sort of smaller organizations get overrun by something like the Broncos,” he said. “If they can foster the kind of community arts vibe and acknowledge that that’s also an important part of the culture of the city, then that would be good. I’d hate to see the arts community around here close up because of the change in the neighborhood.”
President of the Baker Historic Neighborhood Association, Beth Fluto’s first reaction was to be “cautiously optimistic,” although she still worries about the impact of increased traffic.
“We do not want Baker to become a parking lot,” she said.
Fluto said opinion is split in Baker, just south of Burnham Yard across Sixth Avenue. She said that she hears from concerned neighbors, particularly parents, who worry about cars cutting through the neighborhood at high speeds to get to an event at the new stadium.
But she also hears from younger residents who are “excited to see their property values go up.”
Fluto believes that the city has largely listened to the concerns of people in her neighborhood.
“For the most part, we felt like city planning had responded to some of our largest needs or our issues and concerns,” pointing to planned expansion of tree canopy and more multi-modal transportation options in the community.
Lane also credited the Broncos and the city for how they have handled community concerns but is not positive that the outreach will turn into action.
“Listening is one thing,” he said. “They’re at least asking questions to understand. Whether they take that advice and just put it in their pocket or do something about it is yet to be seen.”
