Broncos “continuing to evaluate options” with new stadium, CEO says
Broncos CEO and controlling owner Greg Penner on Tuesday told reporters that there’s “nothing to update” regarding longterm plans or decisions regarding whether the ownership group will decide to build a new stadium.
“We’re continuing to evaluate options,” Penner said. “It’s a long-term, complex question what we end up doing there. But I will say that I was pleased with the impact of the upgrades that we made this last offseason (at Empower Field).
“I think the fans, from the feedback we got, they appreciated it as well.”
As for the Broncos’ recently announced $175 million project to rebuild their team headquarters on the current Dove Valley site, Penner said the club’s current setup works but isn’t ideal for the future.
“Our building right now is actually great,” he said. “The challenge is, as it gets older, we kept putting more and more money into it to keep it up to the standard it needs to be at. It’s also gotten small. It’s very, very difficult to expand, and we really wanted to have an opportunity to bring more of our business people down from the stadium, have more people in one building and then have a building that’s really player-focused and central. It’s all about the player.”
The new building will connect to the indoor practice field and be much more efficient for the players day-to-day than the current set-up.
“What this is going to enable us to do is, instead of having the main building, the strength and conditioning area and the practice facility, we’ll pull it all together,” Penner said. “The spaces will be terrific.
“We think it will raise the expectation for the players and the organization.”
Talking Surtain extension
In a busy offseason full of big decisions, third-year cornerback Pat Surtain II might end up flying under the radar, or he might end up being one of the central figures.
The All-pro and No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 draft is eligible for an extension this offseason, though such mega-deals for nonquarterbacks are relatively rare.
At the least, the Broncos are almost certain to pick up his fifth-year option for 2025 by the late-spring deadline, which is projected by Overthecap to be more than $18 million thanks to Surtain’s multiple Pro Bowl selections.
He will also invariably end up being floated as a trade option because he’d bring a substantial return, though teams rarely trade 23-year-olds with futures like Surtain’s.
“We’re all big fans of Pat,” general manager George Paton told reporters Tuesday when asked if he intended to extend Surtain this offseason. “I think (head coach Sean Payton) said we’re going to have a big meeting in a couple weeks and kind of go through the entire roster, Pat included.
“We want Pat here for a long time. I’m not prepared to make any statements on anything moving forward.”
Uniforms coming … at some point
The only process that rivals the length and complexity of deciding whether to build a new, multibillion dollar football stadium? Trying to change an NFL uniform.
The Broncos are in that process and something could get done this offseason, but not just yet.
“That’s also a longer process. That’s been a learning (situation) for me,” Penner said. “I just figured when you wanted to change your uniform you just made a new uniform. But boy, it’s a severalyear process with the league and Nike to get there. We’ll be having some things coming there in the future, but nothing to announce today.”