Broncos Country can now dream big
DENVER — If Russell Wilson gives Broncos fans reason to hope, the Walton-Penner group agreeing to buy the Broncos gives them license to dream.
So dream big, Broncos Country. Pro football’s sleeping giant, snoozing for half a decade while the Bowlen kids threw lawyers and daggers at one another, has found its feet again.
Few forces can bend and shape the NFL the way a united Broncos front can. One quarterback. One coach. One ownership group. One mission.
So dream big, Broncos Country. Peyton Manning in the front office? Why not?
A stadium/Broncoville complex that makes Stan Kroenke jealous and gives Jerry Jones an edifice complex? Draw it up.
A state-of-the-art practice facility that not only attracts free agents and their families but also could also host community staples such as the CHSAA state football championships? No problem.
The Broncos are a blank slate again. The only limits are your imagination and Rob Walton’s pockets. So dream big, Broncos Country. No more trusts. No more court intrigue.
No more “Game of Thrones” subplots fiddling while the football side of the franchise burns.
No more resting on past laurels. No more coasting downhill on the backs of the NFL’s best fan base.
So dream big, Broncos Country. Don’t just shoot to play in Super Bowls.
Shoot to host them.
Don’t just give Wilson, whose contract is slated to expire after the 2023 season, the richest extension in franchise history.
Give it in dollars that are guaranteed.
For the past five years, the Broncos made excuses.
It’s time to make statements. To put the money where the mouths have failed.
So dream big, Broncos Country. The honeymoon won’t last long. Not while the future of Empower Field at Mile High is the elephant in the room.
Renovate or move? Build downtown? Or in another zip code?
Stan Kroenke’s wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, is Rob Walton’s cousin. Which means one family tree now owns the Broncos, Avalanche, Nuggets, Rapids and Mammoth. One family tree holds dominion over what the heart of downtown Denver could look like over the next decade.
The Kroenkes have the right to develop the land where neighboring Elitch Gardens currently sits. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke affirmed last week that the company intends to maximize its chunk of land, one way or another. Will the Walton-Penner side of the family elect to join forces? Or go their own way?
Before we dive into the stadium debate and the logo, a Mile High salute.
To the Broncos and ownership stability.
It’s about dang time.
And how’s this for nerd irony? New Broncos coach and avowed “Star Wars” fan Nathaniel Hackett is now under the same family umbrella as his movie hero, swaggering pilot/ smuggler Han Solo.
The Walton-Penner group’s addition of Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments and chairwoman of Starbucks Corp., means the Broncos will have minority representation in their ownership. Hobson also happens to be the wife of “Star Wars” creator and Hollywood heavyweight George Lucas. So dream big, Broncos Country. Because suddenly, an era of quarterback carousels, coaching missteps and uncertainty feels like a very long time ago. And a galaxy far, far away.