Empower embraces Mile High heritage in new stadium logo

The Broncos finally have a namingrights partner in Empower Retirement, and that means your drive down Interstate 25 past downtown Denver will soon be getting a significant skyline adjustment.

The waving ridge atop the east and west sides of the stadium will dawn a new logo and signage as part of the team’s 21-year agreement with the Colorado-based retirement solutions company.

It features a blue backdrop with “EMPOWER FIELD” in white block lettering beneath three red waves and above three orange mountain peaks resting on the words “AT MILE HIGH.”

You can see a temporary version hanging on the south outside-facing wall of the stadium. And, once granted approval through the city, permanent fixtures will wrap the stadium inside and out as part of Empower’s public branding effort.

Football traditionalists might sour at the NFL’s mass commercialization outside a few non-sponsored venues such as Lambeau Field and Arrowhead Stadium. But Broncos Country can at least take solace in the fact its new stadium logo has some local flavor.

“One of the things I’m most proud about is everything the fans see was designed in-house by Empower and by Colorado residents,” said Steve Jenks, the company’s chief marketing officer, at a Thursday news conference.

Empower’s decision to include “at Mile High” in its name and logo might have been a point of contention for other interested sponsors; considering the nickname could surpass the formal name in fans’ vocabulary. Empower saw it another way.

“We think that’s part of the heritage so ‘Mile High’ was never going away,” Empower CEO Ed Murphy said. “We never viewed it in any way impacting adversely our brand.”

Likely the biggest contention among fans over the new logo is the waving red stripes (maybe just a hue too close to the division rival Chiefs).

It’s the same flag design used in Empower’s corporate logo and visually bridges the gap between Mile High and the company’s business offerings.

On game days, you’ll see it scrawling across the LED ribbon boards, plastered on the walls behind each end zone and included on a variety of stadium promotions. It will not be painted on the field.

“We’re excited because the scaffolding is up right now to do the sign over the top of the south scoreboard,” Jenks said. “Then, on both of the north scoreboards, there is signage that will be underneath.”