Like other natives of Broncos Country, we were saddened to see the Bowlen ownership of the Denver Broncos becoming an untenable path forward. Pat Bowlen will have his place in history as one of the finest NFL owners, from whom Denverites benefitted from enormously, playing host to one of the country’s top teams, year in, year out.
Now it is time for other hands to lead this franchise, with the team announcing earlier this week that the ownership group led by Walmart scions Rob Walton and son-in-law Greg Penner beat out the competition to become the new owners of our city’s most venerable sports franchise.
No, it’s not the Bowlen family, but there is a family connection. The Kroenke family — owners of the Avalanche, Nuggets and Rapids — are Walton relatives.
The Walton-Penner group can learn a lot from the Kroenkes, and we hope they will take the right lessons: Empowering general managers to take risks on unknown assets as well as as acquire known, expensive ones. Another one: Believing in players by signing them to long term deals.
The lessons we hope they don’t take? Avoiding investing in infrastructure and failing to resolve disputes with broadcast carriers, making local fans unable to watch their stars compete at the highest levels.
At this moment in time, Denver is probably the best sports city nationwide. The Nuggets boast a two-time MVP. The Avalanche are the best in hockey and stand poised to compete for the Stanley Cup, with strong odds of winning. The Broncos have acquired a top NFL quarterback in Russell Wilson and are lining up to be contenders in the upcoming NFL season.
The Walton-Penner group enter a rich sports landscape with a devoted fandom. We wish them the best of luck in continuing the Pat Bowlen legacy of passionate, wise and committed ownership. Bowlen became a bona fide Denver citizen. We hope the Waltons and Penners do too.
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