Broncos agree to terms with Empower Retirement on 21-year deal to name stadium 'Empower Field at Mile High'

Sep 04, 2019 at 02:00 PM

DENVER — The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with Empower Retirement on a 21-year deal to name their stadium "Empower Field at Mile High," it was announced on Wednesday.

The agreement, which runs through the year 2039, is pending approval by the Metropolitan Football Stadium District.

The nation's second-largest retirement plan provider, Empower Retirement is headquartered in metro Denver and has been a team partner of the Broncos since 2015. Empower Field at Mile High will serve as home of the Broncos and more than 300 other events annually, including major concerts, international sporting matches, festivals and conventions.

"We are proud to reach an agreement on a long-term naming rights deal between the Broncos and Empower Retirement," Broncos President and CEO Joe Ellis said. "Empower is a thriving — and growing — hometown company that has been a valued team partner since our Super Bowl season in 2015. Most importantly, we've enjoyed a genuine working relationship with Empower for a number of years because they are simply great at what they do.

"The Broncos and Empower Retirement share many of the same values, especially a commitment to innovation, a focus on community engagement and a desire to be the very best. It's exciting to now call Empower Field at Mile High the home of the Denver Broncos—and many other world-class events—well into the future."

As part of the naming rights agreement with the Broncos, Empower will enjoy significant national brand and media exposure. This includes a comprehensive and integrated mix of visibility on gamedays and throughout the year with signage, media placement (incl. press conference backdrop), promotional opportunities and hospitality benefits.

Empower will also work together with the Broncos on many community and employee engagement opportunities.

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to continue to invest in the community and the future of the Denver Broncos through our expanded partnership with the team," said Edmund F. Murphy III, President & CEO of Empower Retirement. "Empower was born in Colorado but our associates serve working Americans across the entire nation—many of whom follow the NFL. This agreement gives us the chance to show support for this beloved hometown team and our vibrant local community."

Administering $638 billion in assets for 9.2 million retirement plan participants and more than 38,000 organizations, Empower Retirement was named among "America's Best Companies for Customer Service" by Newsweek in 2019. It serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market, including corporate 401(k) clients, government plans, non-profits and individual account holders.

Empower serves 212,000 Colorado residents through 4,900 retirement plans. It administers a total of $16.3 billion in assets on behalf of those Coloradoans.

Selected as the "Best Company to Work for in Colorado" by career website Zippia in 2019, Empower Retirement has approximately 2,700 employees at its Greenwood Village, Colo., headquarters. Named a 2018 Top-100 Innovator in Diversity and Inclusion by Mogul, Empower has 6,200 employees overall across 40 regional offices, including in Kansas City, Milwaukee, the Boston area, Somerset, N.J., and Bangalore, India.

Empower Retirement staff members volunteered more than 20,000 hours of community service for nearly 950 non-profit organizations in 2018, including supporting 436 charitable organizations in the state of Colorado.

One of the most successful and popular sports franchises in the world, the Denver Broncos begin their 60th year of professional football in 2019 while celebrating the NFL's 100th season. Only one NFL team has appeared in more Super Bowls than the Broncos, whose eight Super Bowl appearances include three World Championships (1997, 1998, 2015).

The Broncos have averaged more than 10 wins per season over the last 35 years, posting the fourth-best winning percentage (.598) among all 123 major North American professional sports franchises during that time. In addition to their success on the field, the Broncos are one of the most community-minded franchises in sports and this past year volunteered more than 2,300 hours in the community through player/staff involvement.

Since opening in 2001, the Broncos' state-of-the-art stadium has sold out every possible game (153) as part of the team's NFL-record 403-game, 50-year sellout streak that began in 1970. Denver's stadium has hosted an NFL-high 41 prime-time nationally televised games in the regular season along with nine playoff contests since opening in 2001, including three AFC Championship Games (2005, 2013 & 2015 seasons).

The Broncos have enjoyed the league's best homefield advantage over the last four-plus decades, leading the NFL with 253 home wins and a .715 winning percentage at home since 1977. Since their current stadium opened in 2001, the Broncos are one of only seven NFL teams with at least 100 home victories.

World-renowned musical acts such as Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, Metallica and U2 have played at the Broncos' stadium, which also hosted the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Numerous other high-profile sporting events have taken place at the stadium, including Gold Cup/international soccer, major college football and the CHSAA football championships.

The Broncos' stadium also is home to the three-time Major League Lacrosse champion Denver Outlaws, who have led the MLL in attendance since their inaugural season in 2006.

Featuring first-class amenities to enhance the fan experience, the Broncos' stadium has undergone nearly $100 million worth of upgrades during its 19 years to ensure it remains one of the top facilities in all of sports.

The stadium underwent a $32 million renovation in 2013 that tripled the size of its scoreboard while enhancing all audio/visual elements as well as the concourse areas. In 2017, there was a $6 million Wi-Fi upgrade that made the stadium one of the most well-connected in the country.

Most recently, $8.3 million of budgeted upgrades were approved for the stadium for 2019, including energy-efficient LED lighting for the field/seating areas that meets FIFA World Cup standards.

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A rendering of what stadium branding for Empower Field at Mile High will look like on the ThunderVision scoreboard above the south side of the stadium.

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A rendering of what stadium branding for Empower Field at Mile High will look like on a scoreboard above the north side of the stadium.