DENVER — The Denver Broncos are weeks away from kicking off their season, but Denver's La Alma Lincoln Park residents are focused on something else: the future of their neighborhood.
Dozens of community members gathered Wednesday night at La Alma Recreation Center to help shape the Burnham Yard Small Area Plan, the vision for redeveloping the 58-acre rail yard where the Broncos plan to build their new stadium.
- Watch coverage of neighbors concerns below:
This was the third open house to review and provide feedback on plan recommendations. Community members explored a series of interactive stations at their own pace and shared input on neighborhood priorities and concerns.
Christina Eyre lives in the neighborhood and said the scale of the project is starting to feel real.
"I think for the people who really live in the community, it's starting to set in what 50, 60, 70 events a year with all of those people is going to look like," said Eyre.
Eyre is especially worried about traffic impacts, both on the roads and the nearby light rail. She believes city leaders should explore burying or elevating the light rail at 10th and Osage Station to minimize impacts to nearby residents.
Just this month, the team unveiled the latest renderings for the area surrounding the proposed stadium.
When asked about her impression of those renderings, Eyre said she and others still have questions.
"I think we have a lot of questions about how the beautiful renderings are actually going to impact the community," said Eyre.
That concern is shared by Helen Giron of the La Alma Neighborhood Association, who came to the meeting with a list of demands.
"Some of our demands is a good parking plan, and traffic flow," said Giron. "No person should be displaced from this community because they no longer can afford the rent."
That fear of displacement weighs heavily on resident Steve Hamblin.
"We're afraid that it will raise our rent up, and we're in Section 42," Hamblin told Scripps News Denver.
While neighbors continue to weigh in, Broncos owner Greg Penner acknowledged the challenges ahead during a news conference earlier this week.
"Our focus is squarely on the 2031 opening and trying to get that done, but it's not going to be easy," said Penner.
The team still has work to do. They need to close on CDOT land and relocate a Denver Water facility. As for the stadium itself, Penner said renderings are coming.
"I know our fans really want to see renderings," said Penner. "We're not quite there yet, but we're getting close."
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