If Broncos want a big splash, bring NFL draft to Red Rocks | The Starting Lineup

By Paul Klee April 26, 2026 | updated 2 months ago

The sun comes up over the 76th Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks Amphitheater on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Jerilee Bennett, Gazette file)

Turn on the game!

Three must-see events this week:

1. Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings (2:30 p.m. Sunday, TNT) — Best-case scenario for the Avs: sweep the Kings and watch the Stars and Wild extend their black-and-blue series to seven.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves at Nuggets (8:30 p.m. Monday, NBC) — In Game 5 of this series, the Nuggets must improve a bizarre 10-6 record in home playoff games the past three years.

3. Atlanta Braves at Rockies (6:40 p.m. Friday, MLB.tv) — Former Rockies skipper Walt Weiss brings NL East-leading Atlanta to Coors Field after a smart promotion to Braves manager.

Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, April 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Numbers game

10 minutes, 48 seconds — total playing time for Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas over three games of the Timberwolves series, a maddening development for one of Denver’s most anticipated additions

Box office

$48 — for a seat at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park when the Colorado Rapids host Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Gametime app)

On this day

April 26, 1983 — George Gervin’s Spurs set a franchise playoff record with 152 points in a 19-point win over the Nuggets, who are responsible for five of the 10 highest-scoring playoff games in NBA history

** FILE ** Former Denver Nuggets head coach Doug Moe argues a call by the refs during the Nuggets loss to the LA Lakers in Denver on May 20, 1985. Back with the team that fired him 15 years ago, Moe is again providing the Nuggets with his incomparable perspective. Though he no longer stalks in front of the bench, the “Big Stiff” is a link to the glory days, an ambassador of sorts as the NBA All-Star Game returns to Denver for the third time this weekend. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Final word

Can we all agree the Penner-Walton ownership group is not scared to go big? From shelling out a then-record $4.6 billion to purchase the Broncos, to grabbing a minority stake in the Rockies, the Penner Sports Group is the wealthiest player in sports. If it has interest in bringing an NFL draft to Denver, let’s go big on the venue: Red Rocks Amphitheater. We’ll provide more scenic views than Detroit (2024), Green Bay (2025) or Pittsburgh (this weekend).

— Paul Klee, The Denver Gazette

Paul Klee

Reporter