When the Broncos first announced plans to construct a new $175 million team headquarters back in November 2023, the franchise heard an immediate and widespread fan reaction, as team president Damani Leech recalled.
What does this mean for camp?
A decade ago, fans weren’t thrilled with the Broncos’ decision to largely close training camp practices amid ongoing Dove Valley construction. Thus, when the freshly minted Walton-Penner ownership group added the team headquarters to its long list of franchise upgrades, one of the Broncos’ most time-honored traditions — large-scale fan attendance at camp — stood in jeopardy.
After plans for the groundbreaking were pushed past 2024’s camp, it became unavoidable that this year’s camp would be affected. The berm on the east side of Broncos Park, where thousands of onlookers have sat every August, is now an active construction zone.
So Broncos co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner gave a directive to staff: Figure out a way to safely accommodate some fans in 2025.
“At this point last year,” Leech told The Post, “this is where you have the great leadership of Greg, Carrie and our ownership group, who also realized how important it is to our fans. But also to our football program — we love having the fan energy.”
The solution, as revealed this week, is a long stretch of temporary metal bleachers set up on the south end of Denver’s practice field. The bleacher capacity is capped at roughly 800 fans per practice, and initial free tickets .
It was never going to be perfect this year, as Penner told reporters at March’s owners’ meetings. But Broncos ownership and staff alike knew how important training camp attendance is to fans, and they’re excited that won’t be going away this summer, Leech said.
“I think we’re optimistic that itap going to be a great experience,” Leech said. “… The fans who do attend, obviously, you have a smaller crowd, so it should be a better experience for them.”
All of the usual staples of camp will remain in place, Leech said: free water and sunscreen, pop-up merchandise tents, appearances by Broncos cheerleaders, and autograph-signing opportunities with players for kids under 15. The organization is encouraging attendees to explore ride-sharing, as only 300 parking spots are available to fans.
Concurrently, construction on that new HQ remains on budget and on schedule for a May 2026 move-in, Leech said. The project will have a topping-out in a few weeks with the placement of the highest beam, he added, and the Broncos anticipate the building will be fully enclosed by the time winter weather whips through in November.
In the meantime, though, the franchise is committed to offering a fairly standard — if shrunken — fan experience for 2025’s camp. The Broncos learned that over a third of camp-goers in 2024 were first-time attendees, according to data collected through the ticketing process. That was an important point, Leach noted, in thinking through solutions for a slew of fans who can’t afford regular-season tickets.
“Itap going to be less than the 3,000 we’re used to,” Leech said of camp attendance, “but I think those 800 fans should have a really good experience.”
