What do you get someone who’s a huge LA Rams fan for their birthday?
Why, a tour of the Denver Broncos stadium of course 😉
Shae’s Dad came to visit us in Denver for the week leading up to Christmas which coincided with his birthday. Even though he’s been a Rams fan for decades, we took him on a Broncos stadium tour as we thought he’d love it anyway.
He did.
As did we.
If you ever find yourself in the mile-high city, here’s why you too should go on a Denver Broncos stadium tour.
Colorado Sports Hall Of Fame
The tour itself is run by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame rather than the Denver Broncos organization. As a result, 80% of the proceeds from ticket sales go to local non-profits.
The Hall of Fame is located in the stadium and we had a few minutes to look around before the tour began.
Suites
Our first stop on the tour was one of the luxury suites. These are only found on levels 2 and 4, with levels 1, 3 and 5 only featuring outdoor seating.
I don’t think any of us had ever seen an NFL game in person, so the first thing we noticed when entering the suite was how small the football field looked. 100 yards appears to be a much shorter distance in person compared to seeing it on TV.
The field consists of 100% Kentucky blue grass which keeps it green. There’s 21 miles of hot water piped 4 inches below the field, preventing it from freezing over.
We had an excellent tour guide called Steve and he shared some figures for how much suites can cost. Pricing for suites is based on what type of game it is – pre-season, regular season or premium (e.g. games against rivals, playoffs, etc.)
The smallest party suite can hold up to 20 people and comes with 5 parking passes that usually cost $50 per pass. Reserving one of these suites would cost you ~$15,000 for a pre-season game or ~$25,000 for a regular season game. Even more crazily, those figures don’t include any food or beverage – those costs are negotiated separately!
Corporations can also reserve larger executive suites. This requires a 5 year commitment, with one company paying up to $300,000 per year for 10 games and which includes space for up to 45 people. With an average food and beverage cost of $60 per person, that effectively comes to ~$725 per person per game.
Old Stadium Vs New Stadium
The current Denver Broncos stadium has the capacity to hold 76,125 people. That’s only two more people than the old stadium which held 76,123.
While on the tour, we walked past a photo taken of the two stadiums side-by-side before the old one was demolished. It’s hard to believe that the stadium on the right only holds two extra spectators, but it’s because it contains three times the space for concessions and restrooms, as well as more suites, room for press, larger team locker rooms, etc. They didn’t want to increase the spectator capacity so that fans could be as close to the action as possible.
The new stadium cost $400 million to build. $250 million came from a 1c sales tax increase (which Denver residents voted for), with the other $150 million coming from the Broncos organization. Unfortunately for John Elway, he retired as quarterback before the new stadium opened, so he never got to play on the new field.
Our tour guide shared that they weren’t able to demolish the old stadium by using dynamite (or whatever’s used to knock buildings down) as the blast would’ve also demolished the windows of the new stadium. They therefore had to tear it down much more carefully, with the process taking three months.
In its place, they’ve built a small replica that you can check out at the end of the main stadium tour. The Mile High Monument “seats” 298 people, but we had it to ourselves during our visit.
The Mile High Monument can be found in the stadium parking lot and appeared to be open throughout the day. It therefore seems to be something you can check out for free even if you don’t go on an official tour.
Behind The Scenes
The tour took us through several areas behind the scenes. One of those was the booth where Fox had broadcast the game against the Browns the previous week.
When a network is due to broadcast a game, they show up three days beforehand to set up cameras around the stadium. For regular season games they tend to use 25 cameras; for post-season games they use closer to 35.
We got to go inside and see how little personal space the presenters get which is something I’ve never really paid attention to when watching a game. The windows are left open during a game (presumably to help capture some of the atmosphere), even when it’s less than 20°F outside.
Next up was John Elway’s suite. After a successful career with the Broncos, he’s now their General Manager and so gets his own private suite.
A little further along was the press box. This area was enormous and stretched far around the stadium. Despite the amount of space allocated for press, there’s usually only ~120 people which is barely half full. The reason they have so much space is because it’s needed for post-season games. When the Denver Broncos played the New England Patriots in the post-season a couple of years ago, there were 411 people in the press box.
In the above photo, you can see a statue of a Bronco atop the stadium at the far side. The Broncos had a competition to name the 30 foot, 1 ton statue, with the winner getting two season tickets for life.
When the winning name – Bucko – was announced over the loudspeaker during a game, the crowd booed. They ended up renaming the statue Bucky, but the person who’d submitted the Bucko name still got to keep their season tickets.
Other Lounges & Suites
The Champions Club is the only private suite with outdoor seating. Access to this suite is reserved for people invited by the Broncos organization. Corporate sponsors get some tickets, former players who were with the Denver Broncos for 5+ years get some, business leaders, politicians, etc. get the rest.
Season ticket holders wanting a more premium experience can pay $375 for access to the Club Level Lounge, although this requires a 5 year contract.
The cost of food and drink isn’t included in that $375, but you do have access to a giant fireplace which is probably worth the price in the winter 😉
Locker Rooms
One of our final stops on the tour was the visitors locker room. We went on the tour a few days before Christmas, so it was kitted out for a Christmas function rather than an opposing team.
Visitors aren’t allowed in the Denver Broncos locker room, so we were shown photos instead. Interestingly, the two sets of locker rooms are laid out differently. The Broncos locker room is a wide open space where everyone can see each other. The locker room for the visiting team on the other hand has some corners, ensuring they can’t all see each other.
There’s also a big size difference – the Denver Broncos locker room is 7,500 sq ft, whereas visitors only have 3,600 sq ft.
The stadium is known as Mile High Stadium as it’s 5,280 ft above sea level. This means there’s 20% less oxygen in the air which normally takes 5 weeks to adjust to.
As a result, off to the side of the locker room was a training room. This contained taping benches, tables for players requiring IV hydration, ice baths for muscle cramping, etc. Just what you want after playing in freezing temperatures – a nice, warm ice bath.
Denver Broncos Football Field
The final stop on the tour took us through the visiting team’s tunnel and out to the field.
You’re not allowed on the field itself, but it was still fun to be out there.
The cheapest tickets in the house are the painted Bronco seats which cost $63.
Other Stats
I love facts and figures, so here were some other interesting things we learned:
- Season Tickets – The Denver Broncos have had a 95% season ticket holder rate since 1970. There are 84,000 people on a waiting list, so it’s a 12-15 year wait. I asked our tour guide if you can sign up babies and he said you can. Apparently one person on a tour he gave was signed up for a Green Bay Packers season ticket when he was 1 month old. He’s now 57, so a 12-15 wait for a Broncos season ticket doesn’t seem so bad!
- Broncos Valuation – The current owner Pat Bowlen paid $78 million for the Broncos in 1984. It’s now valued at $2.6 billion.
- Employees – On game day, you can expect there to be 3,500 employees working in the Denver Broncos stadium.
- Video Board – The Broncos have the 9th largest video board in the NFL. It’s 8,800 square feet and cost $10 million.
- Cheerleaders – 300 people participate in cheerleading tryouts each year. 26 make it for one season, then they have to reapply the following year if they want to return. Their earnings? $200 per game.
- Beer – Fans get through 800 kegs on game day, with 3 miles of beer lines running throughout the stadium to serve it.
- Jail Cells – In case fans enjoy too much beer, there are two jail cells in the stadium, both of which hold four people.
- Broncos Sculpture – Out the front of the stadium is a bronze sculpture of some broncos. This was a gift from the owner Pat Bowlen to the people of Denver. It was sculpted in Italy and cost $2 million.
Final Thoughts
The three of us had a wonderful time on the Denver Broncos stadium tour. Our tour guide Steve was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. We also lucked out on our 90 minute tour as we were the only three people in the group.
If you visit Denver, we highly recommend taking the tour, even if you’re not a Broncos fan.
Ticket Prices
We paid $25 per person for the tour which is the standard adult rate. You can get tickets for $20 if you’re a senior aged 65+, military with ID or are a child aged 6-12. Children under 5 are free with a paying adults, while groups of 25+ can get in for $12 per person.
Although parking costs $50 on game day, it’s free when taking a tour during the week. Park on the west side of the stadium, to the left of the gift shop (where you can buy all things orange and blue).
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