Photo of the main entrance at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Home of the Denver Broncos.

Image Credit: TheLastCanadian (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Denver Broncos organization have officially dropped Sports Authority Field from their home stadium's name. Until a new naming rights deal is completed, the stadium will be known as Mile High Stadium. Sports Authority purchased the stadium's naming rights in 2011 after being previously known as Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. The original Mile High Stadium stood on the same site as the current stadium and was the home to the Denver Broncos from 1960 to 2000. 

Sports Authority went bankrupt in March of 2016 after failing to pay off the debts accrued when it was bought by a hedge fund in 2006. The surging popularity of Dick's Sporting Goods also didn't help the company's business, which has now acquired all of Sports Authority's e-commerce and intellectual property as well as a few stores. The return to the name Mile High Stadium has delighted Denver Broncos fans across the country. In fact, in 2001, the Denver Post boycotted the name Invesco Field since they saw it as a slap in the face to the old Mile High Stadium. It wasn't until years later that the newspaper would actually refer to the stadium as Invesco Field in their writings.

The original naming rights deal Sports Authority signed with the Denver Broncos in 2011 was worth $120 million for 20 years. After missing two payments as a result of the March bankruptcy, the Denver Broncos sought to terminate the contract immediately. In the meantime, the Denver Broncos organization will have to cover the payments until a new deal is completed. Back in May, the only company to have shown interest in the naming rights was a company that makes marijuana vaporizers; O.penVape. I highly doubt Roger Goodell and the Denver Broncos ownership group would go for that. After many months, the Sports Authority signage has began to disappear at the stadium as the 2017 NFL season draws closer and closer.

 

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