Broncos announce plans for retractable-roof home, eye 2031 season

The Denver Broncos have identified Burnham Yard as a preferred site for a privately funded, retractable-roof stadium, the team announced on Tuesday.

The stadium, which would be located less than a mile southeast of Empower Field at Mile High -- the Broncos' current venue -- is tentatively planned to be completed in 2031, the Broncos said in a public letter.

The tentative opening day of the new stadium aligns with the expiration of the Broncos' current lease at Empower Field at Mile High with the Metropolitan Football Stadium District.

"Today is a remarkable win-win-win for Denver," mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement. "The Broncos are staying in Denver, we will finally open up the historic Burnham Yard neighborhood for development, and we get to reimagine the Mile High Stadium site as a thriving community in West Denver. The Walton-Penner Ownership Group's private investment into building a world-class stadium in the heart of Denver will open up new possibilities -- not just for Burnham Yard -- but across the city."

Although Broncos owner & CEO Greg Penner notes there is a "long way to go" before the team suits up for a game at the stadium, he's welcoming the future.

"It's our goal to have world-class facilities for this team and for our fans, obviously, with the rich tradition and history at Mile High, and find something that the fans would love as a site that had proximity to that and Denver," Penner said. "We couldn't be more excited about Burnham Yard as the preferred site to build a new stadium and an incredible year-round destination."

Empower Field at Mile High opened on Aug. 11, 2001. Before that, the Broncos played at Mile High Stadium, which opened in 1948.