Stadium Name Game Reeks
By Ken Reed
Mile High Stadium.
It once was the iconic name of the Denver Broncos’ home for decades.
But when Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen demanded that the taxpayers of the Denver metro area build him a new sports palace — or else — things got messy.
The taxpayers of the Denver metro area stepped up and provided $364 million of the $475 million stadium cost. But Bowlen wanted more. He negotiated a naming rights deal with the Metropolitan Football Stadium District that would result in a corporate name on the stadium. In an attempt to appease long-time fans who loved the Mile High Stadium name, the new stadium was called Invesco Field at Mile High. Of course, nobody actually called it that. What does “at Mile High” mean anyway?
When Invesco went bust, the naming rights were then sold to Sports Authority and the taxpayers’ stadium was called Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Now Sports Authority is about to go ten toes up and there’s a movement to give Denver fans and taxpayers their stadium back.
“Return the revered, respected, rightful name to The House That Taxpayers Built!” wrote Denver Post sports columnist Woody Paige recently.
Mile High Stadium. Classic. Traditional. And most importantly, what the fans that built the place want.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
Sports Forum Podcast
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Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books