A new bill is attempting to keep “Mile High” in the Denver Broncos stadium name for good.
The Denver Post reports a bipartisan bill was introduced in Colorado on Tuesday, which would make sure the Broncos Stadium always has “Mile High” in its name. The stadium naming rights are up for grabs after Sports Authority, which currently holds the rights, filed for bankruptcy.
“Broncos fans throughout Denver and Colorado have been uniformly supportive of the Denver Broncos,” said Rep. Dan Pabon, a Democrat from Denver who is sponsoring the bill. “They’ve supported the building of their stadium. They’ve been supportive of the team. They’ve celebrated victory and we have a taxpayer-funded parade to support them.”
The bill states whoever buys the naming rights can name the stadium after their brand, but have to include ‘Mile High,’ which has been in the stadiums name since 1968, in the name. The naming rights for Sports Authority Field at Mile High aren’t cheap. As the Post reports, Sports Authority paid between $6 and $7 million per season for the stadium name.
The ‘Mile High’ aspect of the Broncos stadium is obviously important, but I’d bet people are still going to call it that if the name is changed without it. Living in Toronto, I’ve noticed people still call the Rogers Centre the SkyDome, despite it being purchased by Rogers in 2005.
I get it though, sports stadium names are sacred. Honestly, the bill is reasonable. The brand would get the naming rights while pleasing fans by keeping the ‘Mile High’ in the name. It sounds like a win-win. Hopefully, everybody walks away happy and the ‘Mile High’ name continues to be a part of Broncos football.
