Sunday’s AFC championship game is shaping up to be the hot ticket for corporate entertaining, with companies that hold VIP suite tickets at Invesco Field at Mile High besieged by clients who want access to the game.
“Demand for these tickets has been off the charts,” said Mi chael Van Gilder, managing director of Denver’s Van Gilder Insurance Corp., which plans to entertain 16 in its suite. “It’s definitely a good spot to do business.”
Roughly 20 of the 100-plus suites – some relinquished last fall by their corporate owners, others unassigned – were made available for the Broncos to sell for the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, sports marketing veteran Steve Sander said. When they were put up for sale this week, they were snapped up in 15 minutes at prices ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per box.
“That’s a significant barometer of the desire to entertain around this game,” said Sander, principal at Denver’s Pure Brand Sports and Entertainment. “The power of this kind of event is very strong.”
Companies that will be wining and dining at the stadium Sunday include Wells Fargo Bank, Xcel Energy, Coors Brewing and Qwest.
Mario Carrera, general manager of Spanish-language network Univision Colorado, said his phone has been ringing frequently with ticket requests. Relationship building is the main perk of this kind of entertaining, he said.
“Business is about trust,” Carrera said. “If you’re able get to know people and get a sense of who they are, you have a better relationship going forward.”
Out of the 76,125 seats at Invesco Field, 8,800 are on the suite level, Broncos spokesman Jim Saccomano said. Denver’s Epicurian Entertainment, which provides the catering to all Invesco Field suites, is preparing “massive quantities” of food for Sunday’s sold-out game, including 10,000 hot wings and 1,000 pounds of prime rib. Orders are 25 percent ahead of a regular-season Broncos game.
“Clearly, people are entertaining at a different level this weekend,” Epicurian chief executive Larry DiPasquale said. “The specialty items have been very popular. It’s certainly boosting our sales.”
Local limousine company Presidential Worldwide Transportation has received a dozen reservations this week to ferry corporate clients to and from Invesco Field. Prices range from $48 an hour for a sedan to $95 an hour for a 10-passenger stretch limo.
“If the Broncos weren’t in the playoffs, it would be a lot quieter Sunday, that’s for sure,” company president Gene Cookenboo said.
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. projects the AFC title game will draw 8,000 out-of-town guests and generate $21 million in “overall economic impact.”
“This is a windfall that you couldn’t really predict,” Sander said. “We were lucky enough to host one playoff game, but to host two on back-to-back weekends, there is no doubt it will have a significant economic impact.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
8,800 Suite-level seats at Invesco Field, which seats 76,125 for Broncos games
10,000 Hot wings being prepared for suite-level customers at Sunday’s AFC title game against Pittsburgh
1,000 Pounds of prime rib on order for patrons who are “entertaining at a different level this weekend,” vendor chief executive Larry DiPasquale says
15 Minutes to sell the roughly 20 suites available for Sunday’s game at a price tag of $10,000 to $20,000.
