Denver Broncos Away Games
The Denver Broncos go on 10 road games each year, and it is quite an ordeal to make sure the players’ and staff’s travel experience goes as smoothly as possible.
The travel arrangements and behind-the-scenes efforts of individuals like, Adam Newman, Broncos operations assistant, are what makes it all possible.
Newman and his team are faced with the challenge of moving a large amount of people as effectively as possible.
Here is an inside look at the Denver Broncos away game road trip:
Preparation
Before the Broncos step on to the plane and depart for their away game, there is a large amount of preparation to accomplish. Newman begins working with the hotel about three weeks before the scheduled away game, making sure all the meals, meeting space, rooms and security are worked out in the away city.
In the weeks leading up to the away game, all the travel arrangements have to be set up, and this includes the buses, planes and trucks for the equipment.
As you might expect, an NFL team travels in style with some special advantages over everyone else. Newman sets up the times for TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to come to their facility at Dove Valley to do screening so that they do not have to go through it at DIA (Denver International Airport) like everyone else.
Reservations are setup by Newman with Arrow Stage Lines for the buses to arrive at the Broncos facility and take them to the airport for the away game and on their return.
The Broncos enjoy police escorts everywhere they go to prevent getting stuck in traffic anywhere they go.
Each away game, the Broncos send an advance team that arrives before everyone else and makes sure everything is ready to go.“The advance team is one person, and it is either Chip Conway; Vice President of Operations, Aaron Kalina; Operations Assistant, or John Karpan; Operations Manager,” Newman said.
“ I am going out to New England on Thursday and will spend Friday getting things ready for the team’s arrival,” Conway said. “ Saturday is a pretty easy going day, and then Sunday will be the most hectic day.”
“Once the team arrives and gets settled in, things usually go smooth from there,” Conway said.
The times are arranged with United Airlines, for the equipment to arrive at DIA to be carried on the same flight the Broncos players and personnel will fly on.
Pre-Flight
The Broncos depart the day before their scheduled game, and try to make sure that they arrive in the away city by 3:30 p.m. Newman said.
The Broncos players and personnel arrive at Broncos headquarters to depart for the game, and have to go through security screening right before they get on the buses to the airport.
The four Arrow buses are just outside the door next to screening so that everything and everyone is secure from the time they exit screening and get on the bus, to when they get onto the plane.
“We like to request the same drivers for the buses, and try to always use the same ones because we know them and are comfortable with them,” Newman said. “When the away teams come to Denver, they also use the same drivers.”
“ We use the same type of buses each time for the Broncos, but they are not necessarily the exact same ones, it’s just what we have available for them,” Arrow Stage Lines Representative Ashley Romero said.
Just outside the gate of the Broncos facility in front of the buses, the police escort is in place so that as soon as everyone is aboard, the gate opens and they are on their way to DIA.
The Broncos flight is out of Signature Air, which is a private jet area, separate from the rest of the terminal.
The Flight
The Broncos designated plane with United Airlines is a 767, a large aircraft that allows plenty of space for the players.
Breakdown of people on the flight:
- Coaches
- Players
- Football Operations Staff
- Video Team
- Trainers
- Equipment Team
- Personnel Department
- Public Relations Department
- Internet Team
- Corporate Guests
- Executive Department
- Occasionally the CBS NEWS 4 Sports Team: Reggie Rivers, Vic Lombardi and Gary Miller
You might think that the super star players or starters get to sit in first class on the plane, but that is not the case. Everyone on the plane has assigned seating and the Broncos players seating starts from the back of the plane and moves forward.
“We try to guarantee that every player on the flight gets an open seat to either side of them for space,” Newman said. “However that does not always work out for staff and others.”
“Coaches and our top executives are in first class, and then acting as kind of a buffer between the players and coaches is the staff and media,” Newman said.
The average weight of equipment that travels on the plane with the team is 14,000 pounds and the cost for the plane each year is between one and two million dollars according to Newman.
Arrival
The Broncos arrive in the away city around 3:30 p.m. and then have some time to settle in before their dinner at 6 p.m.
All Broncos players and staff are required to be at the team dinner and they could be fined if they do not show up Newman said.
Menu for dinner:
- Pasta, Mac & Cheese, Baked and Fried Chicken, Steaks, Hamburgers, French Fries, Soup, Chicken Wings
- Cookies, Brownies, Ice Cream with Toppings
- Beverages: Coke, Diet Coke, Water, Gatorade, Juices, Coffee, Tea, 7-Up
Breakfast menu:
- Waffles, Pancakes,Omelet Station, Fresh Fruit, Bacon, Sausage
- Hash Browns, Danishes, French Toast, Bagels, English Muffins, Oatmeal, Cereal and Assorted Juices
After dinner the players are required to go to their positional meetings which usually last until about 9 p.m. Newman said. The Broncos players then go straight to bed and rest up for the game the next day.
The Broncos are on the plane home about 2 ½ hours after the game and arrive in Denver, and then are picked up by the buses to head back to Dove Valley.
Expenses
“All the buses and trucks are probably a couple thousand dollars,” Newman said. “The police escorts are sometimes free but it varies.”
“Sometimes they just ask for donations like a signed football and other things, or as much as $5000,” Newman said.
“The hotel expenses for each trip are probably around $35,000, we reserve 170 rooms and each player gets his own room,” Newman said. The responsibility for all travel expenses is solely the responsibility of the Broncos to pay for Newman said.
“ The only way that the NFL might help pay for travel expenses is if it was an international game like the one the Chargers and Saints are about to go on to London,” Newman said. “Or if it was an extra preseason game that was added like the Hall of Fame game in Canton.”
Another travel cost that most players hope to avoid is having to pay a fine for showing up late for departure times or any of the other times that are set on the itinerary.
Although it is not common, players have missed the plane and pay a large fine and have a sit down meeting with coach Shanahan Newman said.
“If they do miss the plane, they also have to pay for a first class ticket on the next flight out of Denver,” Newman said.
Returning Home
Hopefully the trip home is a lively and happy, with the Broncos having just won an away game, not quiet and somber after losing.
Newman and the rest of the operations team try to make sure that the Denver Broncos have the smoothest and most comfortable trip possible. Anything that can throw off the teams mood or swagger and cause a loss is something that no one wants.
Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan likes to be on time and is sometimes superstitious about anything that would throw things off Newman said.
Adam Newman, Denver Broncos Operations Assitant (Brad Gee, Media Relations)
