Best Seats at Empower Field at Mile High
Empower Field at Mile High sits exactly one mile above sea level, and the altitude isn’t a marketing line — it’s a real factor that wears on visiting players and visiting fans alike. The Broncos have sold out every home game since 1970, the steel-floored seating bowl lets fans stomp up a rumble you can feel in your chest, and on a clear afternoon the Rocky Mountains line the horizon behind the south stands.
The honest catch: the sun at 5,280 feet hits harder than you expect, you dehydrate faster, and if you fly in from sea level and pace yourself like you’re back home, you’ll feel it by the fourth quarter. Get the altitude and the seat right, though, and a Broncos Sunday here is one of the best home-field environments in the league.
Empower Field or Mile High Stadium?
Both names are used, depending on who you ask. The official name of the building is Empower Field at Mile High, but locals usually just call it “Mile High” or “Mile High Stadium.” Over the years, it has also been known by other names like Invesco Field at Mile High, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and Broncos Stadium at Mile High. If you’re looking for tickets, parking, or information about bags, any of these names refer to the same place.
The “Mile High” name has been around longer than the current stadium. The original Mile High Stadium was next door from 1948 until it was torn down in 2002. It hosted the Broncos until the 2000 season, and the new stadium opened in 2001. The area where the old stadium stood is now Lot J, which features the Mile High Monument — a small tribute made from some of the original stadium seats — as a central spot for tailgating on game days. The name, the elevation, and the lively “Rocky Mountain Thunder” all come from the old stadium intentionally.
Seating Overview
The thing that actually separates a great seat from a bad one here isn’t how close you are — it’s elevation along the sideline and which way you’re facing the sun. The bowl is a steep horseshoe, so sightlines are clean almost everywhere, but the lowest sideline rows put you behind a wall of benches, coaches, and cameras, and the east-facing seats bake in afternoon games. Sort those two things out and you’re in good shape.
Best Non-Premium Seats
Lower bowl along the sidelines, roughly rows 10–20 (the 120s through 130s near midfield): This is the sweet spot. You want to be above about row 10 on a sideline so you’re clearing the bench personnel, but still low enough to hear the hits and the play calls. The official guide points to the lower midfield sections in the 120s for the cleanest sightlines, and that tracks — you’re high enough to watch plays develop across the whole field without losing the proximity that makes lower-bowl tickets worth the money. The tradeoff is price: regular-season sideline seats here run well into the hundreds, and division games against the Chiefs, Raiders, or Chargers push them higher.
Club level along the sidelines, low rows (the 300s near midfield): If lower-bowl pricing scares you but you still want a center-cut view, the club level delivers it with a climate-controlled lounge attached. Aim for the lowest row numbers you can get — these sections run deep, and the front rows give you that elevated “see the whole offense” angle. The real value is the indoor refuge: at altitude, being able to duck inside to hydrate, warm up in a December game, or get out of the sun is worth more than it sounds.
South stands upper deck (the 500s behind the south end zone): This is the loudest, most invested corner of the building, and the upper-deck rows here give you honest sightlines for a fraction of sideline pricing. You’re with the diehards who generate the noise visiting offenses complain about, and on a clear day you’ve got the mountains right behind you.
Best Value Seats
Upper-deck west sideline (the 530s): The smart-money pick. You give up nothing on the game itself — the pitch of the bowl keeps the action readable from up top — and you gain the best view in the building: the Denver skyline on one side, the Rockies on the other, plus first dibs on shade as the sun drops west. For a day game in September or October, this is where I’d put my own money over a pricier sun-baked sideline seat.
Bud Light Rooftop (open to every ticket holder): Worth knowing about even if your seat is cheap. The rooftop lounges on the 500 level — entrances across from sections 511 on the west and 537 on the east — are free to enter with any game ticket, with TVs, phone chargers, heated high-tops, and skyline-and-mountain views. Buy an upper-deck seat, then treat the rooftop as a place to stand, warm up, and grab a drink. That combination beats paying for a lot of “premium” elsewhere.
Cheapest Way In
Upper-deck corners (the 500-level corner sections): Against a non-marquee opponent, this is your lowest-cost real ticket. You’re far and you’re angled, and you’ll lean on the big south scoreboard for replays and down-and-distance. But the horseshoe design keeps even corner upper-deck seats connected to the game, and for a family or a casual fan who just wants to be in the building, it works. Skip these for marquee games, though — when the corners are full of out-of-towners, the value evaporates and you’d be better off in the south stands.
Our Pick
If you only take one piece of advice: lower bowl along the west sideline, rows 12–20, near midfield. You get the home-side benches, the cleanest plays-develop sightline in the house, and the shaded side for an afternoon kickoff. It’s not the cheapest seat, but it’s the one I’d hand a friend visiting for the first time.
Denver Weather and How To Prepare
For afternoon games, shade is generally on the Broncos’ home side, the west sideline, while the east sideline and the end zones sit in direct sun. The bigger story is what the altitude does to that sun: UV at 5,280 feet is genuinely stronger than at sea level, and it doesn’t care what the thermometer says. Out-of-towners skip sunscreen in November because they associate burning with heat, then go home red-faced from a 25-degree game. Sunscreen, hat and sunglasses regardless of the date or where you sit.
Then flip the calendar the other way, because late-season and January games can drop into the 20s with wind, and the same upper deck that’s glorious in September is brutal in December. Dress for the date, not the average. That said Denver Weather is pretty unpredictable. Here is the forecast.
What to Avoid (and Trying the South Stands)
The first nine rows of any lower sideline section: Too low to see over the benches, coaches, and sideline personnel. You’ll spend the game standing to see the near sideline and missing the far one. I sat row 8 in section 106 once, figuring closer was better, and was on my feet half the afternoon trying to see over the bench. “Field-level” sounds premium; it isn’t.
The east sideline and north end zone for a sunny afternoon kickoff: Two to three hours of direct sun with altitude UV on top of it. Fine for a night game, rough for a day game — unless you actively want to bake, sit west.
Worth it once — the south stands: They’re not the best seats for studying the game, and longtime fans will tell you the section has mellowed from the old-stadium days. But it’s still the rowdiest, most fun corner of the building, and standing in it for a big divisional game is the closest you’ll get to the Mile High atmosphere people talk about. Do it once.
Premium Seating Options
Premium here is built around the United Club level on the second tier — roughly 8,200 club seats wrapped around climate-controlled lounges — plus suites on the 200 and 400 levels. The single best perk is that all of it gets you indoors at altitude, which matters more in Denver than in most NFL cities.
The Best Premium Experience
The standout is the United Club premium row on the club level near midfield. You get a four-top table with a built-in television, in-seat food and beverage service, padded seats with extra legroom, and a per-game food-and-beverage credit (currently around $200) on top of the lounge access.
The United Club lounges themselves run the second level with high-end dining, full bars, fireplace seating, and exclusive entrances straight onto the field — and club members get a discount on concessions and merch with a Broncos Plus Fan ID.
If you want the ceiling of the non-suite experience, this is it. The reality check: you’re paying several times an upper-deck ticket for amenities, not for dramatically closer seats, so it’s worth it only if you’ll actually use the lounge and the service.
Best Value Premium
This is the call a friend who’s been there would actually make: a standard United Club seat away from the premium-row tables. You still get the full lounge — the same food, the same bars, the same climate-controlled refuge and field-side entrances — for meaningfully less than the premium row, because all you’re giving up is the in-seat table service and the midfield positioning. For a cold late-season game, that indoor lounge is worth far more than ten rows closer to the 50. It’s the premium option that over-delivers for what it costs.
Other Premium Options
The Ring of Fame Loge Suites on a corner of the 400 level are a fun middle ground — small all-inclusive groups (usually six) in cushioned leather seats facing the field, with food and drink served in a shared private lounge behind. The Bud Light Rooftop lounges on the 500 level are the sleeper: lounge-style space with heated high-tops and views, and they’re open to every ticket holder, so you don’t have to buy premium to use them. And the lower-bowl club seats in the corners near midfield give you a premium feel down at field level without committing to the full United Club tier.
Suites & Group Options
Suites sit on the 200 and 400 levels, typically holding 17 to 28 guests, with smaller Ring of Fame suites and a couple of larger spaces for bigger groups. Pricing generally runs from around $18,000 to the low $30,000s per game depending on opponent, level, and day of week, and every suite includes United Club lounge access, VIP parking passes, and two VIP entrances on the east and west ends of the club.
Empower Field at Mile High Seating Chart
Empower Field at Mile High holds 76,125 for Broncos games. The bowl is a horseshoe with three core seating tiers — the lower bowl (100s), the club level (300s), and the upper deck (500s) — plus suite levels on the 200s and 400s. The lower midfield sections give the closest clean sightlines; the upper west side gives the best skyline-and-mountain views.
Here is the Mile High Stadium Seating Chart.
Getting the Best Tickets
Broncos tickets run among the pricier in the league thanks to that five-decade sellout streak, with most seats landing somewhere in the $150–$400 range and division games (Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers) sitting at the top. The flip side: when the opponent is a weak or non-conference draw, prices soften and you can sometimes find seats in the $40–$50 neighborhood.
The secondary market regularly beats face value for those non-marquee dates, so it’s worth comparing a resale marketplace like Vivid Seats against the box office before you buy — and waiting closer to game day for the lower-demand games, where prices tend to drop.
Get Denver Broncos Tickets Here! Through our partnership with Vivid Seats you can get tickets to Denver Broncos games or just about any event on the planet.
Empower Field Bag Policy
Empower Field follows the NFL clear-bag policy. You’re allowed one clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″, or a single one-gallon clear freezer bag. On top of that you can carry a small clutch or purse no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″, with or without a strap.
Backpacks, diaper bags, tinted or patterned plastic bags, and oversized totes are not allowed — diapers and wipes are fine carried inside your clear bag. One-piece foam seat cushions under 18 inches without zippers, pockets, or covers are permitted. The simplest move is to bring a one-gallon Ziploc from home rather than buying an overpriced “clear bag” at the gate.
Some Key Policies
Outside food and water are allowed — a detail most fans miss. You can bring food in your clear bag, plus an empty clear plastic bottle up to one liter that you fill at the refill stations inside (water bottles must be empty at screening). What’s not allowed: stainless-steel bottles like Hydro Flasks, glass, cans, and any frozen drinks. Entry is mobile-only — no paper tickets or barcode screenshots, so load your ticket into Apple or Google Wallet before you arrive to avoid connectivity hiccups at the gate. And there’s no re-entry: once your ticket is scanned, leaving means you’re done for the day, which also means the stadium is smoke- and vape-free inside the security perimeter.
Cashless Venue: Fully cashless — every parking lot, concession stand, and team store takes only cards and mobile payments. If you’ve got cash, reverse ATMs convert it to a prepaid card with no fee; they’re on level 1 near sections 105, 114, 122, and 133, and on levels 3 and 5 by the Guest Relations centers.
Accessibility: ADA seating, companion seats, and accessible entrances are available throughout, and the 2023 renovation added elevators specifically to improve ADA access. Accessible parking can’t be pre-purchased — it’s first-come, first-served on game day in Lot L or the ADA sections of Lots D and G, credit card only, and it sells out fast, so arrive at least an hour early. Check the venue’s ADA guide for the current details on services and entrances.
Empower Field at Mile High Insider Tips
A Broncos Sunday at Mile High is one of the best days out in the NFL, but half of doing it well has nothing to do with football. Altitude, sun, cold and traffic all hit harder here than visitors expect, and the fans who look comfortable are the ones who planned for it. Here’s what locals actually do.
The Altitude Effects
Start hydrating a day before you get here, not an hour before kickoff. A mile of elevation pulls water out of you faster than you notice, and most of the headaches, nausea and dizziness blamed on “the heat” every season are really dehydration plus altitude. Drink a full bottle of water before you leave for the stadium.
Bring an empty clear plastic bottle up to one liter and refill it free inside. Water bottles have to be empty at screening, and stainless steel bottles like Hydro Flasks are turned away, so bring cheap plastic. Aim for roughly a bottle an hour once you’re in your seat.
Cut your normal beer count by a third. Thin air amplifies alcohol, and one beer at 5,280 feet lands closer to one and a half at sea level. Visiting fans who drink at their usual pace are the ones getting walked out in the third quarter.
Wear sunscreen even when it’s freezing. UV at a mile up burns you regardless of temperature, so a 25-degree November afternoon with sun on your face will fry you exactly like an August one. Hat, sunglasses and SPF go in the bag no matter what the forecast says.
Cold-Weather Games
Bring something to stand on. The steel-tread risers that make the stadium rumble are also a heat sink, and after two quarters of standing on cold steel the cold comes up through your boots. Regulars bring a flattened piece of cardboard; the version that will never get argued about at the gate is a one-piece foam seat cushion under 18 inches wide with no pockets or zippers, which the stadium explicitly allows.
Heated clothing is allowed, with a catch on the battery. Heated socks, coats and blankets are permitted if the lithium-ion battery pack is no bigger than about 3″ x 6″ x 1″. Packs running on AA, C or D cell batteries are not allowed, so check yours before you leave the house.
Carry your blanket over your shoulder, not stuffed in a bag. Extra clothing and blankets can come in loose or in your clear bag, and draping it over your shoulder gets you through screening noticeably faster.
Dress for the date, not the average. Late-season and January games here can sit in the 20s with wind, and the upper deck that’s glorious in September is a different building in December. Layers you can shed matter more than one heavy coat, because the sun in the first quarter and the shade in the fourth are two different afternoons.
Arrival, Gates and the Walk In
Use the gate printed on your ticket. General gates open two hours before kickoff, club and suite holders three hours. Entrances ring the stadium and are tied to the parking lots, so walking to the wrong one costs you a full lap of the building.
Target Gate 4 if you want to be in early. It offers early entry for fans who want to watch pre-game warm-ups, with food and drink specials running, and it’s the best gate in the building for anyone who likes an empty concourse.
Sort your bag in the car, not in line. Security runs a double screen, with a first checkpoint that eyeballs your bag before you reach the gate itself. A non-compliant bag gets caught before you’ve made the walk.
Know where the lockers are if you get caught out. Binbox lockers sit outside the gates on the east side near Gate 8 and hold a prohibited item for a fee. There’s no free bag check, so without them your options are a walk back to the car or the trash can.
Walk in across the Auraria campus bridges. If you’re coming from downtown or the LoDo bars, the pedestrian bridges over I-25 turn into a slow-moving river of orange on game day. It’s the best free part of the whole experience and the best photo you’ll take all afternoon.
Food and Drink Strategy
Head for Downtown Mile High around section 127. Aramark built the concourse menu around real Denver restaurants and this is where they’re concentrated: Blue Pan’s Detroit-style pizza, TAG Burger Bar and Renegade Burrito, with GQue BBQ nearby at section 135. Renegade is the pick if you want actual Mexican rather than concourse nachos.
Get the Assassin Burger at Atwater Grill, outside section 100 by Gate 10. It’s a smashburger stand from Broncos Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater, and the Assassin — jalapeños, pepper jack, habanero bacon jam — is the one he points people to.
Use ChoLon at section 103 or Birdcall at section 110 when you’re short on time. ChoLon brings chef Lon Symensma’s wagyu meatballs; Birdcall does a clean Nashville hot chicken sandwich. Both move faster than the 127 cluster in the last half hour before kickoff.
Eat in the first hour or wait until the second quarter. Lines are manageable for the first hour after gates open, then blow up about 30 minutes before kickoff and again at halftime. The $5 Mile High Favs menu holds hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, popcorn and bottled drinks stadium-wide if you’re feeding a family.
Traditions and Culture
Watch for Thunder. A live Arabian gelding, Thunder leads the team onto the field and gallops the length of it after every Broncos score, a tradition carried over from the original Mile High Stadium decades ago.
Stand and stomp when the defense is on the field. The bowl was built with 13,500 tons of steel-tread risers specifically so fans could shake the building on big third downs, deliberately recreating the metal rumble of the old stadium next door. That’s Rocky Mountain Thunder, and everyone joins in.
Learn the “In-com-plete!” chant. The crowd throws it at opposing quarterbacks after every incompletion, and joining in is the fastest way to stop looking like a visitor.
Look up at Bucky the Bronco. The rearing white horse statue perched above the south scoreboard has watched over Broncos football since 1975, and it moved over from the original stadium with everything else.
Instagrammable Spots and Photo Ops
Shoot from the upper south stands on a clear afternoon. With the snow-capped Rockies framing the bowl behind the far rim, that’s the “why they call it Mile High” photo. Best in the hour before kickoff for a late-season game, when the peaks still have snow.
Get to Ring of Fame Plaza early. It sits behind the south scoreboard by the Broncos Horse Fountain, with tall steel monuments to franchise legends and the Mile High signage. It’s shoulder to shoulder in the last hour.
Shoot the walk-in, not just the stadium. The crowd crossing the Auraria bridges and the South Platte trail approach both give you a better sense of place than another shot of the facade.
Families and Kids
Kids two and older need a ticket; under two ride free on a lap. Budget families do best in the upper-deck corners, where four seats cost a fraction of the sideline.
Stretch for the club level if you can. Being able to duck indoors to warm up, get out of the sun or reset a melting-down five-year-old between quarters is worth more at altitude than ten rows closer to the field.
Use the sensory room inside Gate 6. Empower Field runs real KultureCity sensory rooms, not just a quiet desk, and the lower-concourse one is open to all ticket holders. Check in at the Guest Relations Center near section 121 and they’ll walk you over.
Ask Guest Relations for a free sensory bag. They include noise-canceling headphones and fidget tools, with no charge and no reservation needed.
Autographs and Player Access
Get in at gate-open and go straight to the tunnels. Pre-game warm-ups are your only real window, and Gate 4’s early entry is built for exactly this. Position yourself in the lower bowl near the tunnels and benches, where players come on and off the field.
The worst seats in the house are the best ones for this. The first few rows of a lower-bowl sideline are a poor place to watch a football game and prime real estate for an autograph an hour before it starts.
Tailgating
One vehicle, one space, nothing in the drive lane. Denver PD and stadium security enforce it and will make you take a setup down, so keep everything within roughly eight feet directly behind your bumper. Zero tolerance on glass bottles.
Line up early for Lot C if you’re serious about it. It opens six hours before kickoff, sells a very limited number of spaces on game day, and is gone within about an hour of opening.
Take the free official tailgate in Lot J if you’re flying in. It runs at the Mile High Monument on the footprint of the original stadium and is open to anyone with a game ticket, which beats hauling a grill across the country. Break your own setup down before kickoff.
Merch and the Team Store
Shop in the middle of the second quarter. The main team store is a crush right before kickoff and again the second the whistle blows, and the lines basically disappear once the game is underway. If you only want a hat or a shirt, you’ll be in and out.
Tickets, Phone and Wi-Fi
Move your ticket into Apple or Google Wallet before you leave. Entry is mobile only — paper tickets and barcode screenshots are rejected — and a wallet pass works whether or not your signal does at the gate.
Join the stadium Wi-Fi the moment you walk in. With 70,000-plus phones fighting for the same towers, most of your battery drain is your phone hunting for a signal, and the building is one of the better-connected in the league.
Remember the free charging station inside Gate 8. It’s next to the east elevators, worth knowing if you’re relying on your phone for a ride home.
Venue Quirks Worth Knowing
There is no re-entry. Once your ticket is scanned, leaving means your day is over — which is also why the stadium is smoke- and vape-free inside the perimeter.
Bring a card, not cash. Every lot, stand and store is cashless. Reverse ATMs convert cash to a prepaid card with no fee on level 1 near sections 105, 114, 122 and 133, and on levels 3 and 5 by the Guest Relations centers.
Stadium Tours
Book a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame tour if you’re in town outside game day. They run year-round from Gate 1 on the west side, and the 75-to-90-minute walk gets you into an executive suite, the United Club level, the visiting team locker room, Thunder’s stall, the field and the TV production area. It’s wheelchair accessible, and game days affect availability, so book ahead.
Beating the Postgame Crush
Sit for 15 to 20 minutes. The biggest mistake fans make is sprinting for the exits at the whistle and straight into the bottleneck at the light rail platform and the rideshare lots. The on-site shuttle carts even pause service for the first 15 minutes because of pedestrian volume.
Or walk east and hail from clear of it. Ten minutes toward downtown puts you outside the surge, out of the worst pricing, and moving before the people who ran for the door.
Concerts and Events and What Plays Here
Empower Field takes a handful of stadium-tour dates each summer rather than a rolling concert schedule; 2026 ran to eight shows. Check the official stadium events calendar for what’s currently on sale.
Concert Event-Day Timeline
Concerts run on a different clock than football. Box offices typically open at 9 a.m., parking lots at 3 p.m., gates at 5:30 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m., with a couple of gates closed for stage load-in — check which ones on your event page before you pick a lot. Tailgating is permitted in the lots before publicly ticketed events, same rules as a Broncos Sunday, and the bag policy doesn’t change.
Where to Sit for a Concert
The stage sits at one end, so a good football seat and a good concert seat are not the same thing. Lower-bowl sideline sections nearest the stage are the safest buy, and the front rows of the club level give you a straight-on elevated view without the floor’s problems.
Floor tickets are usually general admission on a flat field, which means standing the whole show and seeing very little unless you get there early and get forward. Sections behind and directly beside the stage are either pulled from sale or sold as limited-view, so read the listing rather than assuming a cheap seat is a bargain.
The New Broncos Stadium at Burnham Yard
Empower Field will soon close, and if you plan to visit, you have about five more seasons. The Broncos have chosen Burnham Yard, a 58-acre old railyard southeast of downtown, for a new retractable-roof stadium, part of a mixed-use area. A land purchase agreement with the state will be finalized in 2026, aiming for the stadium to open in the 2031 NFL season. The current lease lasts until 2030, after which the 80 acres of Empower Field will be available for city redevelopment. A new roof would also give Denver a chance to host a Super Bowl, which the current stadium could not do.
If You’ve Got Extra Time in Denver
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, about 30 minutes west, is the one nobody regrets — hike the trails through the red sandstone free on a non-show day, or catch a concert in one of the most spectacular venues anywhere.
Downtown, Union Station is worth a wander for the Great Hall, the bars and the restaurants, and it puts you on the light rail and the rebuilt 16th Street Mall. Rocky Mountain National Park is the classic day trip a couple of hours northwest, and if you want a mountain hit closer in, drive 30 minutes to Boulder and walk up toward the Flatirons from Chautauqua Park.
Getting To Empower Field at Mile High
The stadium sits just west of downtown, wedged against I-25 and the South Platte. Light rail is the cleanest way in if you’re staying downtown; driving works if you pre-pay; and on a nice day, walking or biking the river trail beats both.
Empower Field Parking
Start with the fact that changes your plan: pre-purchased on-site permits are sold out for the season, so everything left at the stadium is drive-up, first-come, and credit card only. The lots are cashless — there is no cash booth anywhere on the property. Lots open 4.5 hours before kickoff and typically sell out within the first two hours, so “early” here means genuinely early, not an hour before the gates.
Lot C is the exception and the one the diehards want. It opens six hours out — 8am for a 2:05 or 2:25 kickoff, noon for a 6:15 or 6:20 — sells a very limited number of spaces at $55, and is usually gone 30 to 60 minutes after it opens. It’s the early tailgating lot and the line forms before dawn for big games. Lot A is the value play at $45, but it’s the carpool section: four or more people in the vehicle or you’re turned away, and no tailgating at all.
Accessible parking can’t be pre-purchased either — it’s $35 in Lot L and $40 in the ADA sections of Lots D and G, first-come on game day with a valid state-issued placard, and it goes fast. You can buy prepaid parking through our partner Vivid Seats as well.
For those seeking off-site parking, the stadium recommends four options: Ball Arena, the Auraria campus, the Denver Aquarium, and Riverside Church at 2401 Alcott Street. Availability and prices vary, with most lots opening four hours before kickoff. Auraria offers easy access via pedestrian bridges over I-25. However, check for events at these venues that may affect parking availability. Permits can be purchased in advance for Riverside Church and other lots. Avoid parking on neighborhood streets in Sun Valley or Jefferson Park due to ticketing and towing.
Once you’re parked, shuttle carts run between the lots and the gates from three hours before kickoff until 15 minutes after the game.
Light Rail
The RTD light rail is the move from downtown. The C, E, and W lines all stop at Empower Field at Mile High Station, a short walk from the gates, and Decatur-Federal Station is a close second option. From a downtown hotel you can board at Union Station and you’re two stops out — barely worth the footsteps to drive. After the game, expect a wait for the platform to clear; it moves, but the crush right at the final whistle is real, so a few minutes in your seat saves you the worst of it.
Coming From Boulder or the North Suburbs
If you’re based up US-36 in Boulder, Louisville, Broomfield or Westminster, don’t drive to the stadium. The Flatiron Flyer runs the corridor into Union Station in roughly 45 to 50 minutes, with park-and-rides at Table Mesa, McCaslin, Flatiron, Broomfield, Church Ranch and Sheridan, and from Union Station the C, E and W lines drop you two stops later at the gates.
It skips the I-25 approach entirely, an RTD day pass covers both legs, and you’re not paying $50 to park or crawling home afterward. Check the schedule before a Sunday game, since weekend frequency is thinner than weekday.
Rideshare
Here’s the quirk that catches people: drop-off and pickup are in different places. Drop-off is at the northeast corner near Gate 5 on Mile High Stadium Circle, but post-game pickup is at the Ball Arena Rideshare Lot at 5th and Walnut — roughly a 15-minute walk east of the stadium, across I-25. Plan for the walk, expect surge pricing at the final whistle, and if you’d rather skip both, walk ten minutes toward downtown and hail from there once you’re clear of the crowd.
Walking & Biking
If the weather’s good, this is underrated. The stadium connects directly to the South Platte River Trail, so you can walk or ride in from downtown, Sloan’s Lake, or the Highlands in well under a mile of pleasant path. There’s a free Broncos Bike Valet on the north side near Gate 4, plus hundreds of bike racks, which makes pedaling in genuinely easy on game day.ards downtown and get an Uber/Lyft.
Hotels Near Empower Field at Mile High
The stadium sits just southwest of downtown, so most visiting fans base themselves in or near LoDo and ride in. Gameday weekends, especially division games and any playoff run, push downtown hotels hard, so book a few weeks out for marquee dates.
Best Areas to Stay
Downtown / LoDo is the default pick — 10 to 15 minutes from the stadium, walking distance to Union Station and a dense run of sports bars, and a straight light-rail shot to the gates. The Highlands, just across the Platte, is the local-favorite alternative: a little closer to the stadium (5 to 10 minutes), better neighborhood bars and restaurants, and fewer tourists. RiNo, the River North art district, is the one for beer people — 20-plus breweries within a few blocks, about 15 to 20 minutes out. And Cherry Creek is the upscale, quieter option about 20 minutes away if you want high-end shopping and dining over game-day buzz.
Hotel Recommendations
The Crawford Hotel is the standout — it’s built right inside Union Station, so you’re sleeping on top of the light rail that runs to the stadium, with the depot’s restaurants and bars downstairs. The Oxford Hotel next door is the historic LoDo choice, all antique character and a strong in-house restaurant in Urban Farmer.
The Maven at Dairy Block is the design-forward pick in the thick of the pregame action, and Hotel Teatro brings boutique luxury near the performing-arts complex. For the top end, the Four Seasons Denver delivers rooftop-pool, skyline-view luxury downtown. And The Rally Hotel at Coors Field is the sports-traveler play — rooftop pool, ballpark next door, and squarely in the LoDo bar district.
Budget Options
The Hampton Inn & Suites Denver–Speer Boulevard is the best-value pick — consistently well-rated, free parking (a real game-day saving downtown), and the usual Hampton hot breakfast and reliable rooms. Comfort Suites Denver Near Downtown is a solid second, with suite-style rooms, free breakfast, and complimentary parking. The tradeoff with both is location: you save on price and parking but you’re a short drive rather than a walk from the LoDo scene.
Bars and Restaurants Near Empower Field at Mile High Stadium
The stadium sits in Sun Valley with no bar district attached, and the pregame that matters happens in the parking lots — they open 4.5 hours before kickoff and routinely sell out within two hours of that, Lot C draws a line before dawn, and the free official tailgate at the Mile High Monument in Lot J is open to anyone with a ticket. Mane Street outside Gates 9 and 10 opens three hours out with food, drinks and music if you didn’t bring a grill. If you’re driving in, plan on spending your pregame outside.
The bar scene is what you do instead when you’re taking transit or you want to be indoors. There are a handful of genuinely good neighborhood spots within walking distance on either side of the stadium, and a full sports-bar district downtown in LoDo that’s two light rail stops away — that one is the postgame play more than the pregame one, since you’d be riding in against the crowd.
Best Pregame & Postgame Bars
The closest real pregame options are the neighborhood spots on either side of the stadium, and they beat fighting the downtown crowd. Raíces Brewing Co. on West Colfax in Sun Valley is a short walk south, with a big patio backing onto the river trail, Latin-inflected beers and a genuinely local crowd. Briar Common Brewery + Eatery in Jefferson Park is the walk in the other direction, about ten minutes north, and runs a limited event menu on game days because it fills up.
Little Machine Beer and The Original Brooklyn’s are the other two within walking distance, the first a proper brewery with a patio, the second a straightforward sports bar with the TVs on. Downtown, Tom’s Watch Bar and ViewHouse Ballpark by Coors Field are the big-screen, big-crowd rooms, Falling Rock Tap House is the move if you care more about the beer list than the TVs with 75-plus taps, and the reopened Tavern on Blake Street is reviving the old game-day energy a block from Coors Field.
Best Restaurants in the Area
Sam’s No. 3 is the Denver move for green chile — a diner slinging green-chile cheeseburgers and smothered breakfast burritos since the 1920s, and the right call for a pre-game or hungover-Monday meal. Cherry Cricket, a Denver institution since 1945, does the burgers locals argue about, with zero pretense. Root Down in the Highlands is the standout if you want something more ambitious — globally inspired, seasonal cooking in a converted gas station, close to the stadium. And Denver Biscuit Company is the post-game recovery play, with biscuit sandwiches big enough to split.
Why You Should Go
Mile High earns its home-field reputation honestly — the altitude, the noise, and a fan base that’s been selling this place out since 1970 add up to a genuinely tough day for visiting teams and a great one for everyone else. Sit on the west sideline or up in the south stands, respect the elevation, and tack on a morning at Red Rocks or the Flatirons, and it’s one of the more complete sports weekends in the country. And with the team moving to a new stadium at Burnham Yard by 2031, the open-air mile-high version of Broncos football has a clock on it — worth catching while it’s still here.
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Written by Brad Richards, Founder of Gameday Guides. This guide includes insights from personal visits as well as updated info from team sources, fan forums, and stadium policies. We aim to help you plan with confidence — enjoy your gameday.