I am so, so refreshed from a weekend of football. The NFL’s grip on the conscience of American Sports Fan is undefeated. How’d it go down:

- Eagles best defensive player is ejected before playing a snap.

- Chiefs lose in Brazil on a Friday night.

- Mike McDaniel is already on the chopping block (week 5 at the latest); Dolphins lose to Colts.

- Bryce Young is awful again.

- Bills stun the Ravens 41-40 in what would normally be Game of the Year, but we still have to watch 17 more weeks.

If there’s one quote ringing in my ears, it’s from our Forefather Thomas Brady. Catch him in an interview, and you’ll hear him repeat, “football is the ultimate team game.” It’s that element that consistently makes me a threat to run through any wall in my house. Does that mean the Bears offensive line showed up Monday? Absolutely not. But the Vikings 11 on offense pulled together around JJ McCarthy to lift him to his first career win. If you wanna go fast, go alone. If you wanna go far, go together.

Typically Urban Planning Content is reserved for The Hairy Putter, but with news that the Broncos are pursuing a new stadium dropping today, I thought it’d be prescient for me to give it a crack. Only the timeliest takes from this publication.

The Broncos join the Bears and Browns as NFL teams with a new stadium in the pipeline. They promise to largely fund the construction with private money, and by private money, I mean Walmart Money. Broncos owner Greg Penner married into the Walmart family and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board. GREAT! Now pay for the whole thing yourself.

Aside from the ethics, financials, and planning of publicly funded stadiums, what is prompting teams to move? For each of the teams above, they’re moving from publicly owned stadiums to privately owned. They’re also largely moving out of city centers. Stadium construction across sports is cyclical. The 90s and early 2000s featured baseball teams returning to downtown, retro-style stadiums after witnessing the success of Baltimore’s Camden Yards. That trend has largely been maintained, but teams today seek revenue opportunities from the surrounding real-estate footprint of each stadium. It’s not crazy. It’s the same anchor tenant model malls used for years. To make it work though, teams need the shoulder room suburbs provide.

Two elements need to be explored more:

- What becomes of the old stadiums?

- How financially viable are they without a football team as a major tenant?

Do I have the answers? Not right now. The good news: these old stadiums should be largely paid off, and aren’t even that old! This piece was prompted by the Bronco news. I was stunned they were moving from a stadium constructed in 2001. By the time the new stadium is finished, Empower Field will be 30 years old. That’s more than enough time to pay off outstanding financing (particularly in the rate environment from 2010-2021). Typing “rate environment” never gets old. Miss those days. What becomes of Empower Field? How many Taylor Swift concerts can Denver host? I’m asking you KMARK World. Put your Landlord Shoes on. What would be the highest and best use of a paid off football stadium that needs to support the Public’s interests and keep the lights on. Direct your replies to Chicago’s city council (just don’t expect a response).