The Denver Broncos and the Colorado Department of Transportation have finalized an agreement allowing the football team to buy Burnham Yard, the abandoned railyard at the center of its plans for a new stadium and adjacent entertainment district.
The agreement to purchase the 58.5-acre parcel for $45.8 million has been in place in general terms since the Broncos named Burnham Yard as the team’s preferred site for a new stadium in September. The finalization of the deal, which comes in the form of an option to purchase, is an anticipated step in the process and was signed May 21, the memorandum says.
“We are pleased to finalize a formal agreement with CDOT to purchase the Burnham Yard site with a closing expected this fall,” Broncos chief communications officer Patrick Smyth said in a statement provided to The Denver Post. “As this remains the preferred site, we remain optimistic that our collaboration with the city, state and community will keep everything on track for 2031.”
The deal was originally set to close earlier this month but now is slated to close this fall.
“This is an eight-figure real estate transaction, and that’s not going to be as simple as selling your parents’ house,” CDOT communications director Matt Inzeo told The Post.
The agreement gives a limited liability corporation associated with the Broncos the right of first refusal to purchase the former railyard from CDOT and ensures the state cannot sell the land to anybody but the football club.
The option must be exercised by June 30, 2027, which is after the time the Broncos hope to have shovels in the ground as they begin Phase 1A of their stadium and district plan.
Earlier this year, Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner made it clear that all stakeholders involved had a lot of work to do in order to keep an “ambitious” timeline of playing in the new stadium for the 2031 season on track.
“Itap an ambitious timeline that we have,” Penner said at that time. “And we won’t be able to accomplish our goals in terms of timing and getting in there just by ourselves. So itap not just something the Broncos are driving. We’ve got to have a lot of support from partners and others that are involved with the site.”
The Broncos in September announced conceptual agreements to purchase the railyard and 25 acres of Denver Water property and by that time had also completed a host of private real estate purchases in the area.
Going forward, though, there are still several complicated matters unresolved regarding the totality of a planned 150-acre development area. The largest is the partial relocation of Denver Water’s operations to several parcels in different parts of the city.
The Broncos are also still working through other potential private real estate transactions, including an approximately 10-acre parcel in the middle of the northern portion of the proposed project that is owned by SRM Concrete.
