Colorado's professional sports teams are eyeing new stadiums, and the Denver Broncos and the Denver Nuggets have begun talks with the city about building new places in which to play.
Members of a city council committee said they would proceed cautiously with such plants.
McNichols Arena, where the Nuggets play, is 20 years old. Although the building is sound, the team laments the lack of luxury boxes and specialty seating arrangements. The team has expressed interest in building a privately financed $60 million arena not far from McNichols.
The city has some authority over the location of a new arena because of a Nuggets lease with city-owned McNichols that stretches until 2008.
Mile High Stadium, where the Broncos play, is the second oldest playing field in the National Football League, at 46 years old. Despite engineering consultants' statements that the stadium is structurally sound, both the city and the Broncos believe a new stadium is needed.
A new stadium might cost about $150 million and would have to be publicly financed, Bronco officials said. The team has proposed using a sales taxing authority similar to the one used to build the future home of the Colorado Rockies, Coors Field.
