Penner pushes for a 2031 Broncos stadium, not a bigger stake in the Rockies

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner said he’s zeroed in on getting shovels in the ground so the team can open its new Denver stadium in 2031 and not in becoming majority owner of Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies.

Penner and his wife, Carrie Walton Penner, bought a 40% interest in the baseball club earlier this year.

“Right now, we’re just focused on being supportive minority partners," Penner said Tuesday, adding that Rockies chairman & CEO Dick Monfort and owner/general partner Charlie Monfort "are in full control, and we’re going to do what we can to support them.”

Penner also said the Broncos haven't decided whether personal seat licenses will be a part of the new football stadium they're hoping to build at Burnham Yard near downtown Denver.

“Really, it’s the furthest thing from our minds right now," Penner said, noting the site where the team has purchased nearly $200 million in land is "still a ‘preferred’ site, but it's not finalized that we're going to be in that location.

“Obviously, that’s where we really want to be,” Penner said. "So really, we haven’t even gotten to PSLs yet. Our season ticket holders are vital to our organization and we’re going to keep them informed every step of the way once we get there.”

The Broncos this week closed a deal to purchase six parcels owned by a concrete company spanning nearly 10 acres in the northern part of the club’s planned stadium and surrounding mixed-use district at Burnham Yard. SRM Concrete had been one of the longest-running holdouts in the new stadium site but there remains more deals that need to be made within the community and the city to solidify the site as the team's future home, replacing Empower Field at Mile High.

The complexities of building the stadium and mixed-use district near downtown make for a challenging timeline.

“I think everybody involved in the process has the intent to do the right thing, is trying to do the right thing, but it’s a lot of moving pieces, and it is complex," he said. "Our focus is squarely on the 2031 opening and trying to get that done but it’s not going to be easy.”

“You don’t want to start these massive projects without most, or if not all, of your ducks lined up because you’re going to end up spending a lot more money,” Penner explained. "So we’re going to do it right and when we start, we’ll do it expeditiously.”

Penner said renderings of the new stadium are still in the works. It'll have a natural grass field and a retractable roof: “We want the skydivers to be able to land,” he said with a laugh.

On the football front, Penner said he hasn't begun contemplating a long-term extension for quarterback Bo Nix, who's entering his third NFL season, and he said he gave coach Sean Payton a new five-year deal in alignment with GM George Paton's new deal because he likes the way they work together.

Penner spoke at the Broncos' new $175 million headquarters that opened last month. He said he and Carrie Walton Penner gave Dick Monfort a tour of the facility Tuesday.

Penner said becoming a minority investor in the Rockies came about over a series of breakfasts he had with Dick Monfort over the last several years following the Walton Penner group's purchase of the Broncos.

“I think they were ready to bring on a partner, and we couldn’t be more excited about doing something here in the Denver market,” Penner said. "(We) have grown up baseball fans, as well, and as you know, it’s a terrific fan base, ballpark, and we’re really pleased to join the ownership group there.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Denver Broncos co-owner Carrie Walton Penner, front, and her husband, team co-owner and chief executive officer Greg Penner arrive to talk to reporters at the team's NFL football training camp in Centennial, Colo., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos co-owner and chief executive officer Greg Penner talks to reporters at the team's NFL football training camp in Centennial, Colo., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos co-owner and chief executive officer Greg Penner talks to reporters at the team's NFL football training camp in Centennial, Colo., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos co-owner and chief executive officer Greg Penner talks to reporters at the team's NFL football training camp in Centennial, Colo., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) — A Republican congressman said he had to swim to safety after a plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing in a lake late Saturday.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany says he was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the light aircraft lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency landing in Lake Wausau. They both ended up in the water and swam to safety.

“After landing, we called 911. As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat," he wrote on X.

The Marathon County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the emergency landing happened just before 9 p.m. Saturday. Tiffany and the pilot, Leonard Boltz, got out of the plane and called 911. They were rescued by emergency responders in a fire department airboat just after 9 p.m.

Both men were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released. Tiffany suffered a cut above his right eye that required stitches, his campaign said in an emailed statement.

A no-wake buoy was placed near the plane and boaters are being asked to avoid the area until the plane can be removed, the sheriff's office said. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will investigate.

Tiffany is running for governor on the Republican ticket in Wisconsin and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

David Crowley, the Democratic candidate wished Tiffany a “quick recovery” in a post on X and lauded the “heroism of the pilot.”

The plane Tiffany was traveling in was a single-engine, four-seat Bonanza aircraft.

FILE - Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool, File)