ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — From the balcony outside the second floor office of team president Damani Leech, the Broncos’ training camp grounds never looked so lusciously green.
The two grass practice fields, the large grassy berm -- that we now know is supposed to seat no more than 3,000 fans -- was a beautiful green contrast against the hazy, blue sky. An unusually rainy summer didn’t hurt.
Leech walked out to his balcony dressed sharply in a dark blue sport coat, slacks and dress shirt, still excited about the just completed in-house fireside chat that featured owners Carrie Walton Penner and Condoleezza Rice and observed by and a hundred or so other employees. Walton Penner served as the moderator who led Rice into telling some of the rich anecdotes from her abundant background as an educator, administrator, diplomat and national political leader.
“It was good, very interesting,’’ Leech said before sitting down for his interview with 9NEWS. “One, Condoleezza’s experience and background to be able to tell stories where her wisdom and trust and excellence, all of that came through.”
Soon the Broncos’ training camp area will look even better as the practice fields will be occupied by 90 players and 28 coaches. The berm will be occupied by free ticket-holding fans.
The key words there being, “free” and “tickets.” Broncos training camp has always been free to fans but for the first time in team history, attendees will need a ticket to enter and watch training camp practice, the first of which is Friday morning, July 28. There will be 12 camp practices in all that are open to fans. Leech said tickets help ensure the best possible experience for fans. The Broncos are the 28th team in the 32-team NFL to utilize tickets for camp. One could say the team was a little behind the times.
“Having tickets and what we think is a pretty hassle-free way – you go online, you go to our app, you get your tickets, they’re free. They don’t cost anything and they give you, the fans, some certainty of days you will be able to get in and have access to practice.”
For starters, Broncos fans seem to like the idea of how tickets bring order to the proceedings.
“The tickets did get gobbled up pretty quickly,’’ Leech said. “We had over 4,000 different accounts where people were able to get multiple tickets. That’s over 16,000 people if you do the math but spread across a number of days – 86% of those people had tickets for two days or less. So it’s not as if the same people went in and got tickets for every single practice. People were pretty judicious about that.
“But we know not everybody got access to tickets. Demand is a good problem to have.”
Which begs the question: Why, for the first time, are the Broncos capping their camp crowds at 3,000 when previously there have been gatherings of 5,000-plus for those Saturday padded-popping sessions? (Only two camp practices last year exceeded 3,000 fans).
“We’re an entity that lives in a (Dove Valley) community and we have to be good partners with that community,’’ Leech said. “We have a great relationship with Arapahoe County. But just like any building or event you have limitations on the number of people you can have in there. And so that’s our limit for this year and we’re going to abide by that. Not only do we want to be good community partners but again, we want fans to have a good experience. We want people to be able to sit comfortably and enjoy practice.”
The Broncos earlier this week announced a system in which ticket-holding fans who ultimately cannot attend their appointed practice can return their tickets through their Ticketmaster accounts. So far, more than 50 tickets have been returned – and quickly snatched up. Still, tickets will continue to be returned and available on a daily basis.
Say what you will about the disappointing on-field product in recent years but these new Broncos bosses aren’t afraid to make changes and offer a clear explanation as to why.
Besides up-close views of new head coach Sean Payton and practice itself, the Broncos will have other fan festivities going on. Players will sign autographs each day. Former Bronco players Jake Plummer and Ed McCaffrey will be around to mingle with the fans. An enlarged version of the Broncos’ new alternate helmet, which will be revealed Tuesday, will be set up in throne-like fashion for fans to see.
“The goal is to have, in addition to the football, something unique and special every day,’’ Leech said.
The alternate helmet, by the way, will be worn for at least two games this season in which the Broncos will pair with their Color Rush uniforms. Those two games must still be coordinated with the NFL.
“They look great,’’ Leech said about the helmet. “I am really excited for our fans to see it. It’s an alternate so it’s different.’’
Leech is wrapping up the final three weeks of his first year as Broncos president. He had spent the previous six years working for the NFL in New York.
“It’s going to sound trite but it’s about the fans,’’ Leech said about his occupational move. “When you’re at the league office you’re observing from 30,000 feet, very strategic. When you're here in a local market, you really see it, feel it, the level of energy of the fans and they’re commitment to this team. And it’s a responsibility – we’ve got to do right by these folks.”
The practice fields and berm over Leech’s shoulder? Perhaps, someday soon it will look completely different. Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner has talked about either dramatically renovating the current facility, or building a new one on the existing property – in which case it’s possible the new headquarters building would be located where the berm now rests, in all its greenish splendor.
“We’ve got a 30-year training facility and anybody who’s had a house for 30 years knows families grow,’’ Leech said. “You’re going to knock down walls, paint a little bit and eventually you start saying, we’re going to have to do something significant here.’’
The Penners and Leech visited training centers this offseason in Chicago, Miami, Minnesota and others.
“Teams that built or renovated training facilities in the last few years,’’ Leech said. “Just to learn. I would say we’re probably in the first quarter of the process, our research and analysis of trying to figure out what we could do. We can either renovate or build new and we’re studying that.’’
While Leech primarily oversees the business side of the Broncos, the business of football begins and ends with whether the team wins or loses on Sundays. Each of the previous six years, there have been way too many losses and not enough wins.
“We are football-first,’’ Leech said. “Our focus is being great on the field. We want to give the fans a great experience and being great on the field is a big part of that. We’re really excited about that. One game at a time. Let’s win the first game. Beat those Raiders.”
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