Really? We’re talking about a new Denver Broncos stadium already? Well, before saying yes, let’s make it contingent on fixing the city first.
Voters approved the current Broncos stadium in 1998. The structure was ugly to begin with and built to be scraped to the ground as soon as bond dealers could con us to buy another stadium.
The arena was designed as a giant Dixie cup to be crushed and tossed away, a monument to modern American commercial architecture — built to be bulldozed.
It’s the opposite of Coors Field, designed to be a timeless baseball park that will be even more cool in 50 years than it is today.
You remember the threat back in 1998. We were bullied. If we didn’t pay the ransom of a new publicly financed stadium for the privately owned Broncos, our “predominantly orange” team would move to a city who loved them more.
We crumbled and bought them Invesco-Sports-Authority-Empower Field. It’s not even 25 years old, so of course it’s time to buy a new one.
Expect the same blackmail tactic again. If we don’t buy them a new stadium, they might leave. Mayor Mike Johnston has claimed the city’s top priority is to keep the team in Denver. (The top priority?! Not ending stabbings?)
They are setting the narrative early — “The Broncos might leave.”
The people of Colorado have been faithfully loyal to the Denver Broncos, win or lose, for 65 long years. We should get a fraction of that loyalty back. If your girlfriend demands you buy her a new car or she’s leaving, you might be dating the wrong girl.
Look, we all know how this game is going to play out. Once the Broncos have a decent season or two, they’ll announce their plan for a new stadium. The “economic development” bros will pimp study after study showing how this colossal redevelopment will pay for itself many times over within 15 minutes of the first kickoff. (Really, every city should build 10 stadiums to be rich). And there will be rumors of cities wanting to lure the Broncos to their town.
Bottom line: sports-crazed voters will pass the tax and debt package, and a new Dixie cup stadium will go up.
So, why don’t we taxpaying Broncos fans get out in front of it? Before the Broncos owners make a deal with the city, let’s demand a deal from the Broncos. Instead of waiting for them to threaten to leave, let’s hold a new stadium over their heads until we get something first.
Taxpayers are diffused, rarely organized to flex political muscles or negotiate for real results, so we get little for what we pay for. Perfect example: tax increases for schools.
Colorado’s educational system is a failure. Reading and math scores are in the toilet. So, inevitably, school districts ask for more money to fix the problem, promising with more cash our kids will finally read and write at grade level. But we never demand any accountability in exchange.
You wouldn’t build your house like that. You wouldn’t pay a contractor the full price before he even put a shovel in the ground. You’d give him enough money to get started. Then, when he finishes the foundation, you’d give him another check, when the framing is done, another check, and so on.
We should only agree to school tax increases if the deal is structured with guaranteed outcomes before money is paid. The school district gets a first tranche of money to get started and then, in two years, if reading and math scores reach a mutually agreed level, they get the next tranche.
The accountability must be verifiable and agreed to before we say yes.
We taxpayers and Bronco fanatics should make a deal with the Broncos, not the city. Government doesn’t care about us; we just pay taxes. But government cares about their crown jewel of the Rockies, the Broncos.
We need to let the Broncos know we will not vote for a new stadium until they pressure Denver to fix the city.
If quantifiable measurements of litter, graffiti, street people, open drug use and crime rates are met, then and only then will we support a new stadium.
Call it the grand Broncos Bargain — safe and clean, then the football team!
Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver.
