Broncos say their new stadium will be ‘privately financed,’ but ‘private’ often still means hundreds of millions in public resources

Rarely are sports stadiums financed entirely with private funds.

By: Geoffrey Propheter, University of Colorado Denver, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: January 14, 2026

Words: 1,141

Last Updated: 2 months ago

By Geoffrey Propheter, University of Colorado Denver

The Denver Broncos announced in early September 2025 their plan to build a privately financed football stadium. The proposal received a lot of attention and praise.

Across the five major sports leagues in the U.S. – the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB and MLS – only 20% of facilities are privately owned.

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