A Denver Broncos QB Club group of 15 fans attended the Broncos/Chargers game on January 2nd. While the game didn’t turn out as we had hoped (a 34 to 13 loss to the Chargers) our group enjoyed the experience of seeing a game in the NFL’s newest and largest stadium!
Half of our group had seats in the upper deck on the 50 yard line as the above picture shows (at kickoff!) The other half purchased end zone seats on the lower level. Club member Maryanne Munz said the lower level seats were similar to what the Quarterback Club has at Mile Hi.
Club members Bev and Roger Ryken and me (Tim Larison) were among those in the upper deck seats. We all wore our orange!
Sofi Stadium had the latest in technological advancements, including this unique wrap around video board above the field. With this setup you could sit anywhere in the stadium and have a good view of the replays on the scoreboard. There just wasn’t enough replays of good Bronco plays this day!
I liked the wide concourses Sofi had. Compared to past Bronco QB Club road trips to Arizona’s, Minnesota’s, and Dallas’ stadiums these were the widest concourses I have seen. The stadium refreshment stands were plentiful with lots of options for food and drink.
Is Sofi an indoor stadium or an outdoor stadium?? It’s both! I hadn’t seen this unique setup in other stadiums where the ends of the stadium had concourses open to the outside air, while the field was covered with a retractable dome. The stadium was built on the grounds of the old Hollywood horse race track. The lake you see in this picture was in the infield of the horse track – they kept the lake and built the stadium grounds around it.
The next day our QB Club group got a private tour of the stadium – just for us! Here our guide is explaining the many features of the stadium. There were short video presentations that gave us more information on the tour.
After touring different seating areas, suites, and stadium lounges as part of the tour we got to go on the field! We walked through a tunnel from the Chargers locker room to the field just like the players did on game day.
On the field different challenges were set up for us. The passing drill shown above, with field staff providing us footballs was one. Bev celebrates above by getting her football in the target! There was also a field goal challenge (my kick was just under the crossbar from extra point range – I don’t have the leg Brandon McManus showed on game day where he kicked his Bronco road record 61 yard field goal!)
Here I am recreating on the field the spot where Drew Lock just came up short of a 4th down touchdown. The artificial turf of Sofi was very soft and would be easy to play on. Not like the concrete like Astroturf from stadiums years ago.
A Bronco QB Club road trip also gives fans the opportunity to explore the city we visit the day before the game. Our group had free time on that Saturday. One couple of our group attended the Rose Parade and sent us this picture!
To conclude our stadium tour we visited the LA Rams locker room. We had to visit the locker of one of the greatest Broncos ever – Von Miller!
While we didn’t see the Broncos win, our group had a good time on our annual qb club road trip. Where will the club travel to in 2022? Stay tuned after the schedule is announced!