Former Site of Bears Baseball Stadium and Mile High Stadium

This unique monument is a small replica of the former Mile High Stadium which stood from 1948 to 2001. The stadium opened as the home of the Denver Bears baseball team. The stadium was expanded when Denver was awarded an NFL franchise and the Broncos began playing here in 1960. When the city acquired the park in 1968, it was renamed Mile High Stadium. This field remained the home of the Bears (renamed the Zephyrs in 1985) until 1992. Starting in 1993, the Colorado Rockies called Mile High their home field and played at the park their first two seasons, leaving for Coors Field in 1995. The Colorado Rapids also played at the stadium in 1996. In 2002, the stadium was demolished, and the Broncos and the Rapids moved to Empower Field (aka Invesco Field at Mile High)

In the parking lot of Empower Field, one can find the outline of Bears Stadium's home plate as well as a miniature replica of Mile High Stadium. Both serve as a reminder of the work of Bob Howsam in bringing big-league sports to Denver. Howsam purchased the minor league Denver Bears in 1947 and envisioned Denver supporting a major league team by filling a modern stadium. He chose this site which had once been a landfill at 20th & Clay Streets. The opening game at Bears Stadium took place on August 14th, 1948. The stadium held 16,000 seats, and the 11,000 attendees were far larger than most minor league games. Howsam's dream of bringing a major league team to Denver would not be realized for 30 years. In the meantime, his stadium was far too large for a minor league franchise, so he looked towards the increasingly popular sport of professional football.

In 1959, Howsam was awarded an American Football League franchise and expanded the stadium once more, still hopefully of bringing MLB to Denver. This pre-merger AFL consisted of the New York Titans, Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Texans, and the Denver Broncos. The Broncos shared Bears Stadium and seating was added to the field for Bronco Games. With portable bleachers, stadium capacity increased to 34,000 seats.

In 1968 Bears Stadium was purchased by the City of Denver and the name was changed to Mile High Stadium to advertise the city's new brand. Permanent stands were added on the north and west sides. In 1977 the east stands were revamped with a hydraulic system. This allowed the seats to extend for football and retract for baseball games. This also brought the max capacity to 80,000 seats.

The Bears were renamed The Zephyrs in 1985 and played at Mile High until 1992. In 1993, Denver welcomed their new MLB team, The Rockies who played at Mile High Stadium for their first two years until 1995 when Coors Field was complete. The Broncos continued to play at Mile High Stadium and were joined by the Colorado Rapids soccer team in 1996. In 2002, the historic stadium was demolished and the Broncos and Rapids moved to the adjacent Invesco Field.

1. Chrisman, Chris. Baseball before Coors Field: A tour of Denver's historic baseball sites, SBNation. August 5th 2013. Accessed July 22nd 2020. https://www.purplerow.com/2013/8/5/4588706/baseball-before-coors-field.
2. Mile High Stadium, Ballparks of Baseball. Accessed July 22nd 2020. https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/mile-high-stadium/.
3. Bears Stadium, Denver Library. Accessed July 22nd 2020. https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/bears-stadiam-its-beginning-and-evolution.