Greg Penner: We want to create best option for next 40-50 years with new stadium

The Broncos’ current lease at Empower Field at Mile High runs through the 2030 season, so a new stadium for the franchise isn’t necessarily urgent.

But given the time it takes for development and construction, the Broncos have been doing plenty of research into potential sites for their next home.

Team owner and CEO Greg Penner said on Monday at the annual league meeting that the Broncos are “continuing our diligence” on a new stadium.

“As I mentioned before, it’s complex,” Penner said, via transcript from the team. “We haven’t ruled anything out. We’re still looking at the current site, other sites around Denver, Lone Tree, Aurora. We don’t have a set timetable for making a decision. We obviously have our lease that ends at a certain date, which is a date that we could focus on. It could be something that would happen earlier than that. If we needed to, we could be in our current stadium longer. So we don’t have a set timetable at this point.

“We’re really focused on what’s the best option long-term. We’re thinking, and we want to create what’s the best option for the next 40 or 50 years, not the next 10 or 20 years."

In keeping the team’s options open, Penner noted that a dome or a retractable roof is under consideration — which would allow the team to host big, national events like the Final Four.

But there are also a lot of things that will go into how the franchise will proceed, particularly with a new stadium’s physical location.

“[No.] 1 is working with different government entities whether that’s the state or the city, but it’s also where our fans are and where they want to be,” Penner said. “If we’re going to do development, which as you know, there is a plan on our current site for development, so that’s certainly an option that would go around the stadium.”Gre

Empower Field at Mile High opened in 2001 — back when it was named Invesco Field. It replaced Mile High Stadium, which had been the Broncos’ home since 1960.