page_title: Mile High Stadium
section_title: The Broncos as the primary tenant (1960–1992)
hierarchical_section_title: Mile High Stadium / History / The Broncos as the primary tenant (1960–1992)
caption_attribution_description: Action on the field. I was in the area on business and decided to take in a Broncos / Buccaneers game on a Sunday night in 1996.
context_page_description: Mile High Stadium was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado.
  The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the Western League during its construction. Originally designed as a baseball venue, the stadium was expanded in later years to accommodate the addition of a professional football team to the city, the Denver Broncos, as well as to improve Denver's hopes of landing a Major League Baseball team. Although the stadium was originally built as a baseball-specific venue, it became more popular as a pro-football stadium despite hosting both sports for a majority of its life.
  The Broncos called Mile High Stadium home from their beginning in the AFL in 1960 until 2000. The Bears, who changed their name to the Zephyrs in 1985, continued to play in the stadium until 1992 when the franchise was moved to New Orleans. The move was precipitated by the awarding of a Major League Baseball franchise to the city of Denver, and in 1993 the Colorado Rockies season opened in Mile High.
context_section_description: A large bleacher section was added along the south side and temporary east stands were built in 1960, raising the capacity to 34,657; baseball capacity was 26,500 in 1963.
  Howsam's ownership in the AFL was short-lived, as overwhelming debt forced Howsam to sell all his sports interests in 1961. His dream of major league baseball in Denver would be placed on hold for another 30 years.
  One condition of including Denver in the AFL–NFL merger announced in 1966 was expanding Bears Stadium to at least 50,000 seats. This required adding second and third decks along the west sideline (first base line). This expansion was completed in 1968, when the stadium was sold to the city of Denver, which renamed it Mile High Stadium and built the upper deck along the west side, thus raising capacity to 50,657.
caption: The Broncos at Mile High Stadium in 1996
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