Broncos, Denver submit bid to host 2020 draft
For years the Broncos and Denver have been interested in hosting a Super Bowl or NFL draft to put the city on a national stage. And they’re hopeful they will get to do so soon.
Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis told The Denver Post on Saturday that the team has submitted an application to the league to try to host the 2020 draft, and that if Denver is not selected for that year, they will “absolutely” try for 2021, 2022 or 2023.
“The draft is something we’d really like to see accomplished,” Ellis said. “I think it’d be nice for Mr. B (team owner Pat Bowlen), to know that the city he’s witnessed tremendous support from in terms of what they’ve done for the Broncos and how important the Broncos are to people and how important football is to people.
“We’ve put in an application for 2020, and that may or may not come to fruition depending on how the league feels about when they’re going to honor the (league’s) 100th season. … We believe it would be a great thing for the city, a great thing for Colorado, a great thing for this Rocky Mountain region. It would draw a lot of people and would be a really fun event.”
Ellis said he already has had discussions with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff about Denver’s interest in hosting and said that “if we put the right package together, we have an excellent chance.”
Though the Broncos had looked into submitting bids for earlier drafts, they faced scheduling issues with events at the convention center, where draft night likely would take place.
The Broncos likely will face the same hurdles in future years because of Denver’s growth and popularity as a site for hosting conventions. But as NFL drafts morph into citywide festivals, the league has gotten creative with venues — and Denver could use Philadelphia’s 2017 model to work around potential conflicts.
Instead of hosting the latest draft inside one of Philadelphia’s historical venues or its convention center, the NFL created a 3,000-seat theater on the steps of the Museum of Art. The city attracted a record 250,000 people to its streets for the three-day event.
The Broncos also are interested in hosting a Super Bowl, but remain realistic about their odds of landing one.
“The sense that I get is that the (NFL) committee tasked with guiding ownership to the pool of candidates for Super Bowls is less than enthusiastic about cold-weather sites,” Ellis said. “It appears after New York (Super Bowl XLVIII), they’re not in a hurry to do that again. And one day in Denver in February it’ll be 60 degrees and sunny, and the next day it’ll be snowing.
“Now, if the league were to open up the game to cold-weather sites without a dome, we would definitely want it. And I think Visit Denver and the mayor expressed interest in trying to throw our hat in the ring.”