The Broncos announced that the Sports Authority logos on their stadium are "coming down," according to Nicki Jhabvala of the DENVER POST. Broncos President & CEO Joe Ellis said that the team "will take down the signage representing the defunct company, starting within the next 10 days." Ellis: "The name needs to remain in place for a while because we have some place-holder events both inside the building and then in the bowl itself -- some concerts and stuff." The Broncos had originally "hoped to secure a new naming rights partner for the stadium" for the start of the '17 season. As the Broncos enter another offseason, Ellis is "unwilling to make promises about finding a new partnering brand" for the start of '18, but he "anticipates a different look for the Broncos’ stadium by then." Ellis said, "I suspect by the start of the season we’ll either have a placeholder name or a name on the building that involves a corporation supporting that name." The team is "adamant in finding a new naming rights partner ... to help fund stadium maintenance and upgrades" (DENVER POST, 1/3). In Denver, Monica Mendoza noted when the $400M stadium opened in '01, it was named Invesco Field at Mile High after Invesco Funds Group "inked a 20-year naming-rights" deal for $120M. But Invesco "hit financial hard times," and in '11, Sports Authority "bought the remaining 10 years on the naming contract." But Sports Authority "filed for bankruptcy" in March '16. The Broncos "bought the remaining five years of the naming-rights contract themselves" for $19M while "searching for a new buyer" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/2).
