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Stadium milestones
May: The Stadium Act is passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Roy Romer. It creates a football stadium district and allows residents of the six-county metro area to vote on a proposed penny tax on every $10 purchase to finance a stadium. July 29: The district's site selection committee unanimously chooses the Sports Complex site in the Central Platte Valley, where Mile High Stadium and McNichols Arena stand. Aug. 21: City decides not to renovate Mile High Stadium. Jan. 25: Broncos win Super Bowl XXXII, their first Super Bowl championship. Aug. 24: Denver City Council votes to let Broncos out of the lease at Mile High Stadium if voters agree to finance a new stadium. Nov. 3: Fifty-seven percent of metro area taxpayers vote in favor of building a new stadium for the Broncos. Jan. 31: Broncos beat Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. May 2: John Elway announces his retirement from football. May: Construction on the stadium begins as crews start moving dirt at the stadium site. JUNE: Tim Romani, who headed construction of the Pepsi Center, is tapped as executive director for the stadium construction. Aug. 17: Ground is officially broken. Jan. 24: Demolition of McNichols Arena begins. It is done by late February. April: Stadium construction moves slightly ahead of schedule due to mild weather. May: Public hearings on stadium naming rights conducted. July 21: Concrete "topping out" celebration. Oct.. 17: A time capsule is placed in the stadium by students from Lake Middle School, the closest school to the stadium, with instructions that it be opened in 2040. Items in the capsule include a cellphone and pager, Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss books, rap and top 40 CDs and a Sacajawea dollar. Dec. 23: The Broncos beat the San Francisco 49ers 38-9 in their last game in Mile High Stadium. Steel "topping out" celebration. Jan. 29: The name, approved 7-1 by the stadium district, is "Invesco Field at Mile High." Invesco Funds Group, an Arapahoe County mutual fund company, will pay $120 million over 20 years for the naming rights. The district will get half the money and the Broncos half. Feb. 28: Disgruntled fans sue to overturn the naming decision. April 26: Playing-field turf is installed by Graff Turf Farms of Fort Morgan. May 22: Invesco Field at Mile High logo is unveiled, in the form of a 50-by-21-foot banner on the east elevation. June 8: Bucko the Bronco, brought from Mile High Stadium where it had been for 25 years, is installed over the south scoreboard. July 3: The Broncos will pay $9.5 million of the $15.2 million charge for extra work and changes made during construction. Taxpayers will pay the rest. The public's share is still within the $335 million cap approved by voters. July 12: Workers start installing the engraved bricks sold to pay for public art works. July 16: Italian artist Sergio Benvenuti oversees installation of the $2 million sculpture he created for the south entrance. Its seven galloping bronze horses weighing 2 to 3 tons are a gift from Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and his family. July 17: Disability-rights groups give high marks to the stadium's special features for the disabled, including 1,524 seats for wheelchair users and their companions, eight elevators and eight escalators, and ramps on all four corners. July 26-27: Plans for food at the stadium are revealed, with Epicurean Entertainment serving sushi, beef tenderloin, Caesar salad, deep dish pizza and CD-size cookies for suites. Volume Services America, vendor for the main stadium, announces local food vendors chosen to provide food and beverages. The menu will include buffalo cheese steak, tamales, Southwestern wraps, jambalaya, chimichangas, barbecued turkey, Cajun food, panini sandwiches and hot dogs. Aug. 2: Mayor Webb says he will ask the council to change the name of the streets surrounding the stadium to "Mile High Stadium Circle." Current address of Invesco Field is 1805 Bryant St. Aug. 6: Officials dedicate the Counties Gateway Plaza at the west entrance, honoring the six counties that make up the Stadium District -- Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson. Aug. 11: The Eagles perform for 55,000 at the grand opening. The stadium's debut is marred by complaints about the sound system -- the one brought by the band, not the stadium's own -- and about traffic and parking. Bucko the Bronco, sporting a new coat of white paint, is unveiled with fireworks after the concert. Aug. 14 and 16: Public art is dedicated: Equipment Field by Melissa Smedley, Ante Marinovic and Mathieu Gregoire of San Diego, is west of the stadium. Pass Through the Land by Catherine Widgery is on the east side. Aug. 16: Mayor Wellington Webb trades the Mile High Stadium trademark to the Broncos in exchange for a 20-year lease on a luxury box at the new stadium. Aug. 19: Grand Opening festivities, with self-guided tours and free entertainment. Aug. 25: Broncos play their first game in the stadium, a preseason contest against the New Orleans Saints. Planned: Sept. 1: CU-CSU game scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 10: Broncos season opener against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. Sept. 15: "Goodbye to Mile High," a flag-football game in the old stadium, with ex-Broncos, including John Elway, and former NFL stars such as Joe Montana scheduled to appear. Oct.. 5: Stadium blessing by Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput. January-February: Mile High Stadium will be torn down. Sources: Newspaper articles and Metropolitan Football Stadium District.
Compiled by News librarian Barbara Wagner.
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