The Denver Broncos still have close ties to former quarterback Peyton Manning, and the QB is using those ties.
The Denver Broncos have developed a close relationship with former quarterback Peyton Manning that extends back to the days when Manning “led” the team to a win in Super Bowl 50 in 2015, and now Manning is expanding his business empire into the Denver area by fronting a mixed-use business development project in Littleton, according to Jessica Alvarado Gamez of the Denver Post.
The project is called “1st Street Farms,” and Manning is partnering with the Denver-based Gastamo Group on a site that will feature a 15,000-square-foot restaurant offering featuring “Southern-inspired, Colorado-focused” cuisine, and the project also includes a 13,000-square-foot “Field House” venue that can host a wide array of functions and events.
The site plan for 1st Street Farms includes a multi-use turf field designed for youth sports and community programming, with the design also including greens space and walking paths.
“Mr. Manning’s financial involvement, along with other equity partners, has been intentionally limited by Gastamo Group to ensure they retain long-term ownership and management of the project, and to more adequately reflect the nature of Mr. Manning’s partnership and role with the project; not as a majority owner, but rather, as a promoter,” the agenda said.
All of this aligns with Manning’s approach to earning money outside of football, both during and after his football career. He’s an accomplished pitchman who’s still all over the web and the airwaves, and part of the reason he’s probably involved in a project like this is that his innovative “Manning-cast” format he pioneered with his quarterback brother Eli isn’t nearly as innovative these days.
His relationship with the Broncos is close and getting closer, however. Manning and other members of the Super Bowl 50 team were trotted out multiple times for events and celebrations during the Broncos’ successful season this year, as the team looked to solidify the connection between the 2015 champions and this year’s team that almost made it to the Super Bowl.
Expect the Broncos to be heavily involved in this venture as well, even if they’re not part of the initial publicity wave. The Broncos are pushing hard to get a stadium built, and they’ll be opening a new team headquarters in June, so using Manning’s venue for some designed events would make a lot of sense.
Manning still needs approval from the Littleton city council, though, which might not be easy given that the tract of land was originally slated to be used to build residential townhouse units. Some amount of public funding will be needed as well, so there’s plenty of negotiating to be done on that front as well.