Residents of the La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood had questions about the potential for a new Broncos stadium to be built in their backyard.

What would the environmental impacts be? Would one of the oldest, most historic neighborhoods in the city be paved over in favor of parking lots? How might a stadium impact the artists and small businesses in the Santa Fe Arts District? Would families be displaced? Could the community negotiate with the Broncos to also construct affordable housing, social services or food locations?

A neighborhood rich in history and conditioned to fight for its rights is again gearing up to defend the La Alma Lincoln Park community from progress that forsakes preservation. This time, residents’ guard is up as Burnham Yard, the state-owned former railroad yard in the area, is under consideration to accommodate a new stadium for the Denver Broncos to replace Empower Field at Mile High as the expiration of the team’s lease approaches in early 2031.

The fate of the parcel of the land remains unclear, but residents want to ensure their voices are at the table to guide its development. So far, they’re left with a lot of unanswered questions.

The La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association board members wanted answers as much as the residents posing inquiries.

“They bought this land in secret, and we just want to learn more,” said Nolan Hahn, president of the La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, during a Wednesday evening neighborhood association meeting.

Hahn was referencing the Broncos-affiliated limited liability corporations that have snapped up properties surrounding Burnham Yard.

Broncos spokesperson Patrick Smyth said while they have not received outreach from specific neighborhoods, the organization is engaged with representatives on a city level as they figure out the future of their stadium.

“We’ve had several positive and productive conversations with representatives from Denver, Lone Tree and Aurora as we explore the potential options for the future of our stadium,” Smyth said in a statement. “When there is a determination, we look forward to proactively and transparently engaging with all key community constituents.”

Connie Buckley has lived in the area for 30 years. The 82-year-old said she’s used to her neighborhood being overruled.“Who knows what the heck they’re doing?” Buckley said of the stadium. “It’s got to be bad if they’re keeping it a secret.

For God’s sake, people have basic rights and needs, and they need to be cared for and attended to and listened to and respected and this secret crap — that’s so wrong.

Maybe they just thought they could hoodwink everybody in the neighborhood. They wouldn’t treat the people in Wash Park like this.”

History repeats

La Alma Lincoln Park is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Denver. It has one of the greatest concentrations of homes built before 1890 and historical significance as the heart of the city’s Chicano movement, said John Deffenbaugh, CEO of Historic Denver.

The Auraria neighborhood next-door is technically Denver’s oldest. The working-class, largely Latino community was razed by the city in the 1970s to build the Auraria campus.