You've got a group heading down I-25 for a Broncos game, and you already know the two moments that ruin a good day: the crawl into the Sun Valley neighborhood looking for an open lot, and the walk back to your car (or your rideshare pickup) after 76,000 people empty out at once. Empower Field at Mile High doesn't make either one easy on you. The stadium's own parking pages say lots for early tailgating routinely fill within the first two hours of opening, and rideshare riders get pointed to a pickup spot that's a 15-minute walk from the gates — in the opposite direction from where you got dropped off.
One decision changes all of that for your group: where the bus drops you, and where it's waiting when you're ready to leave.
A charter bus or party bus rental to Empower Field at Mile High drops your group at the northeast corner near Gate 5, the same zone the stadium routes rideshare drop-offs to, and the bus stages nearby until you're ready to go. Below is exactly how the drop-off, the lot system, the tailgate rules, and the drive down from Broomfield actually work, pulled from the stadium's own published pages and the Denver Broncos' current schedule — not guesswork. For general trip planning around the metro, the Broomfield sporting event transportation page covers Front Range game-day service more broadly.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at Empower Field at Mile High
Buses dropping a group at Empower Field at Mile High (1701 Bryant Street, Denver, CO 80204) use the same zone the stadium designates for rideshare: the northeast corner of the stadium near Gate 5 on Mile High Stadium Circle, according to the venue's own A-Z Fan Guide. That puts your group on the pedestrian walkway right outside the gate, not out at the edge of a surface lot.
The pickup side is the part that catches people off guard. After the game, the stadium's designated pickup point moves to 5th and Walnut Street at the Ball Arena Rideshare Lot — the same fan guide puts that walk at roughly 15 minutes from the stadium, headed east across the South Platte River toward downtown. That's a long walk for a group that just spent three hours on its feet, in the exact opposite direction of where everyone got dropped off.
A charter bus or minibus rental skips that entirely: it stages nearby during the game and comes back to the Gate 5 drop zone instead of forcing your group across the river to find it.
Your group is dropped and picked up at the same spot — the Gate 5 zone on Mile High Stadium Circle — instead of walking to a rideshare lot across the river after the game. That's the single fact that keeps a large group together on the way out.
ADA needs are covered at the same location: the stadium's ADA Guide lists accessible ramps in all four corners of the building, with Gates 4/5 and 9/10 serving as the primary accessible entries, and an ADA hotline at 720-258-3337 for anyone in your group who needs it confirmed ahead of time.
Where Does a Charter Bus Park at Empower Field at Mile High?
Here's the honest part: Empower Field's own directions-and-parking pages don't publish a dedicated charter-bus or oversized-vehicle lot the way some NFL stadiums do. What they do publish is a lettered lot system that opens to any paying vehicle, and it's worth understanding before your bus rental heads down I-25.
Per the venue's Broncos gameday parking page, general lots open 4.5 hours before kickoff, and Lot C — the designated early-tailgating lot — opens six hours out at $55 a space, first-come, first-served, credit card only. Lot A has a carpool section priced at $45 a space for vehicles carrying four or more people. ADA parking runs $35 in Lot L or $40 in Lots D or G, and the same page notes those accessible spaces "usually sell out within the first two hours."
Pre-purchased onsite permits are frequently sold out well before game day, which is why the stadium routes late shoppers to an official Ticketmaster parking search and an offsite lot checkout through its offsite parking map.
None of that is bus-specific, and that's exactly why groups call ahead rather than guess. When you book through Broomfieldminibuscompany.com, confirming where a charter bus or party bus can stage for your event date is part of what gets sorted out before your group ever leaves Broomfield — not something you find out at a gated lot entrance.
The Lettered Lots, With Real Cross Streets
The stadium's lot-specific directions page lists the full ring of lots around the building, each tied to a different approach:
- Lots A & B (1601 Mile High Stadium Circle) — off Federal Boulevard via Dick Connor Avenue, or I-25 exit 210C/211C.
- Lot C — off 17th Avenue near Mile High Stadium Circle, the early-tailgating lot noted above.
- Lots D, E & G — clustered along Mile High Stadium Circle and Bryant Street; Lots D and G double as ADA lots.
- Lot F (2978 W 19th Ave) and Lot H (2865 W 20th Ave) — off Federal Boulevard near 19th and 20th.
- Lots J & L — off W 26th Avenue and Clay Street; Lot J is the ticketed VIP Tailgate lot.
- Lots S, T, V & Y — strung along W Colfax Avenue and Decatur Street, the westernmost ring.
The lots closest to Mile High Stadium Circle fill first and cost the most; the Colfax Avenue lots are a longer walk but open later into the pregame window. For a bus rental, none of this changes your group's experience much, because your bus isn't the one hunting for a space — it drops you at Gate 5 first.
Rent a Party Bus to Empower Field at Mile High for Game-Day Tailgating
Tailgating is allowed at Empower Field, with real limits. The A-Z Fan Guide confirms tailgating is prohibited in the B-Valet area and in Lot A's carpool section, and the VIP Tailgate in Lot J is a separate, ticketed experience run through Bullseye Event Group that opens three hours before kickoff — parking and stadium admission aren't included in that ticket. For everyone else, Lot C's six-hour early window is the one groups plan around, and it fills fast enough that arriving right at opening matters.
A party bus rental built for Empower Field at Mile High turns that six-hour window into the whole point of the trip rather than a scramble. The undercarriage bays and onboard storage carry the folding tables, the cooler, and the grill gear off Broomfield without anyone hauling it out of a trunk in a parking lot, and the group already has music and seating sorted before the bus ever reaches Federal Boulevard. Because outside alcohol brought into the stadium itself results in ejection under the venue's own rules, the tailgate lot — not the seating bowl — is where that part of game day happens, and a party bus is built around exactly that stretch of the day.
Driving to Empower Field at Mile High from Broomfield and Denver
Broomfield sits roughly 20 miles northwest of the stadium, and the drive down typically runs US-36 to I-25 South before cutting off toward Federal Boulevard, Colfax Avenue, or Mile High Stadium Circle depending on which lot you're aimed at. Off-peak, that's a 30 to 40 minute run. On a game day, build in real extra time: the same I-25 exits that serve downtown Denver also feed every lot around the stadium, and the last two miles into Sun Valley slow to a crawl in the hour before kickoff as 76,000 people converge on a handful of surface lots at once.
That drive is exactly the piece a bus rental takes off your plate. Instead of a caravan of cars each hunting for its own space in Lot C, A, or wherever still has room, one bus handles the whole run from Broomfield, and the only decision your group makes is what time to load up. Broomfield group transportation built around a fixed pickup time gets your whole group down I-25 together instead of splitting across however many personal vehicles it would otherwise take.
Empower Field at Mile High Bus Rental vs. Rideshare, Light Rail & Driving Yourself
This is a bus-comparison site, so it's worth being straight about when a private bus rental is genuinely the better call and when it isn't.
| Option | Cost shape | Arrives together? | Walk to the gates | Best group size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charter bus / party bus rental | One flat rate, split across the group | Yes — one vehicle, one drop | Steps — Gate 5 zone | 15–56 |
| RTD light rail (W or E Line) | $2.75 local 3-hour pass | Only if riding the same train | About 8 minutes on foot from the Empower Field at Mile High Station | Any, but no group control |
| Denver Trolley Football Shuttle | $10 round trip / $7 one-way | Only if boarding together at Confluence Park | Drops at the Broncos Bridge stop near I-25 | Small groups |
| Rideshare (Uber / Lyft) | Per car each way, plus post-game surge | No — multiple cars, multiple ETAs | Drop at Gate 5, but pickup is a 15-minute walk to 5th & Walnut | 1–4 per car |
| Everyone drives & parks | $45–$55 per car, credit card only | No — separate cars, separate lots | Varies by lot, some a long walk | 1–2 cars |
For a pair of fans coming down from Broomfield, the RTD light rail or the Denver Trolley shuttle is often the cheaper, simpler call. But once your group is big enough to fill more than a couple of cars, the math flips: every one of those cars needs its own $45–$55 space (assuming the lot hasn't already sold out), and every rideshare comes back to a pickup point 15 minutes from the gates. One bus replaces all of it with a single arrival and a single departure point.
Denver International Airport to Empower Field at Mile High
For out-of-town groups flying in for a game or the Zach Bryan shows, Denver International Airport sits well east of the stadium — RTD's own fan guide notes the University of Colorado A Line runs from the airport into downtown Union Station, where it connects to the W and E Lines that serve the Empower Field at Mile High Station, an 8-minute walk from the gates. A single-ride Airport Day Pass runs $10, per RTD's current fares page, and covers the whole trip in on transit.
That connection works for a solo traveler carrying a duffel bag. It works far less well for a group of twenty flying in for a Broncos weekend with luggage, tailgate gear, and a hotel stop to make before the game. A bus rental gathers everyone at baggage claim once, holds the bags in the undercarriage, and runs straight to the hotel or the stadium instead of turning arrival day into a rideshare scramble.
The Broomfield airport transportation page covers that kind of terminal pickup for groups landing anywhere in the Denver metro.
What Size Charter Bus or Party Bus Fits Your Empower Field Group?
Group size is really the only thing that should decide your vehicle. Here's how the lineup breaks down for a stadium run:
| Vehicle | Typical seats | Gear space | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprinter van | Up to ~14 | Modest — a cooler, a few bags | Suite groups, small groups |
| 18-passenger minibus | ~18 | Overhead plus some underfloor | A small tailgate group from one neighborhood |
| 25-passenger minibus | ~25 | Underfloor bays | Office or extended-family groups |
| 35-passenger minibus | ~35 | Deep underfloor bays | Full tailgate setups with grills and tables |
| Charter bus | Up to 56 | Excellent — full undercarriage bays | Large fan groups, corporate suite outings |
| Party bus | ~15–40 | Onboard, lighter | Groups who want the tailgate to start at pickup |
| School bus rental | Varies | Basic | Youth groups, budget-minded outings |
A group hauling a full tailgate setup — grills, folding tables, a couple of coolers — needs the underfloor bays a minibus or charter bus offers; a smaller group headed straight to a suite or club seat travels lighter and fits comfortably in a Sprinter van. Either way, the full vehicle lineup is worth comparing before you lock in a size.
Empower Field at Mile High Charter Bus Rental Prices
Pricing for a stadium run depends on vehicle size, the total hours you need it (tailgate time plus the post-game wait included), the date, and how far the pickup is from Broomfield or wherever your group is starting. To give you an idea of how that adds up, here's a real-numbers run for a game already on the 2026 calendar.
A Chiefs Game-Day Run, By the Numbers
The Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs on November 1, 2026, a 2:25 PM MST kickoff, per the Broncos' current schedule. A 30-person group books a 35-passenger minibus with a pickup in Broomfield at 10:30 AM. The bus reaches Lot C by 11:15 AM, inside the six-hour early-tailgate window, and the group grills and sets up until gates open at 12:25 PM — two hours before kickoff, per the stadium's own gate-opening rule.
The bus stages nearby and is back at the Gate 5 drop zone by the time the group walks out after the final whistle. A 7-hour rental at that size might run in the neighborhood of $1,400 — roughly $47 a person, tailgate lot, the drive down I-25, and the walk back all folded into one number.
That figure moves with the date, the vehicle, the hours, and demand around a given game. Fill out the quick quote form or call 720-452-6240 and you can have pricing for your specific date in about a minute. The Broomfield bus rental prices page has more on how those numbers shift by season.
Bag Policy and Gate Rules for Empower Field at Mile High Bus Groups
Before your group leaves the bus, it's worth knowing what actually gets through the gates. Per the stadium's own clear bag policy, each person may carry one clear bag no larger than 12" x 6" x 12" (a clear backpack, cinch bag, or one-gallon zip-top bag all qualify), plus a small non-clear bag or clutch no larger than 4.5" x 6.5", including fanny packs. Backpacks that aren't clear, purses, diaper bags, and tinted or printed plastic bags are all turned away at the gate.
A few more rules worth knowing before kickoff: outside alcohol results in immediate ejection, coolers and stainless steel water bottles aren't allowed inside, and an empty plastic water bottle up to 34 oz is fine to bring through. None of that changes what your bus can carry — the undercarriage bays hold the cooler and the tailgate gear for the parking lot, and the bag rules only apply once your group walks through Gate 5.
Leaving Empower Field at Mile High After the Game
Getting 76,000 people out of Sun Valley at once is the hardest part of any trip here, and it's where a bus rental earns its keep. Because the stadium's own rideshare pickup sits a 15-minute walk away at 5th and Walnut, large numbers of fans are making that crossing on foot at the exact moment your bus could already be staged and waiting at the Gate 5 zone instead.
With a bus rental, your group sets a pickup window before the game ever starts, and the bus comes back to the same corner it dropped you at. No hunting for a car in a lot that looked different in the dark, no standing in a rideshare queue that's spiking with post-game demand, no long walk across the river with a tired group. Everyone climbs aboard at one spot and the drive back up I-25 to Broomfield is somebody else's problem.
2026 Events at Empower Field at Mile High Worth Booking a Bus For
The stadium's calendar for the rest of 2026 gives groups a clear window to plan around, straight from the venue's events page and the Broncos' own schedule:
- Zach Bryan, With Heaven On Tour — August 13–14, 2026, a two-night stadium run that draws crowds from across the Front Range.
- Broncos preseason — August 21 vs. Green Bay and August 28 vs. Minnesota, both 7:00 PM kickoffs.
- Broncos regular season home games — September 20 vs. Jacksonville, September 27 vs. the LA Rams, October 15 vs. Seattle (a Thursday night game), November 1 vs. Kansas City, November 22 vs. Las Vegas, December 6 vs. Miami, and a Christmas Day matchup with Buffalo on December 25.
- Week 18 — a Broncos-Chargers date still to be finalized on the schedule.
Thursday and Friday games compress the whole tailgate-and-arrival window into fewer daylight hours, and the December dates bring winter weather into the mix on top of the usual lot congestion. Whichever date brings your group down, the earlier the vehicle is locked in, the better the size and price options for that day. A Broomfield concert transportation booking works the same way for a stadium show as it does for a Broncos Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at Empower Field at Mile High?
At the northeast corner of the stadium near Gate 5 on Mile High Stadium Circle — the same zone the stadium designates for rideshare drop-off, according to the venue's A-Z Fan Guide. That's on the pedestrian walkway right outside the gate, not out at a remote lot.
Is there a dedicated bus or RV parking lot at Empower Field?
The stadium's own parking pages don't publish one. What exists is a lettered system of general lots (A through Y) that open to any paying vehicle, with prices running $45–$55 a space depending on the lot. Because there's no bus-specific lot published, confirming where a group's bus can stage for a given event is worth doing ahead of time rather than at the gate.
How much does parking cost at Empower Field at Mile High?
Per the Broncos gameday parking page, Lot C (the early-tailgating lot) runs $55 a space, the Lot A carpool section runs $45 for vehicles with four or more riders, and ADA parking runs $35 in Lot L or $40 in Lots D and G. All of it is credit card only, first-come, first-served, and the ADA spaces typically sell out within the first two hours of the lots opening.
When do the parking lots open on a Broncos game day?
General lots open 4.5 hours before kickoff. Lot C, the early-tailgating lot, opens six hours before kickoff for groups planning a longer tailgate.
Where do fans get picked up after the game?
The stadium's designated post-event rideshare pickup is at 5th and Walnut Street at the Ball Arena Rideshare Lot, roughly a 15-minute walk from the gates. A charter bus rental skips that walk by staging near the Gate 5 drop zone instead and returning to the same spot your group was dropped off.
What's the bag policy at Empower Field at Mile High?
One clear bag up to 12" x 6" x 12" (or a one-gallon clear zip-top bag), plus one small non-clear bag or clutch up to 4.5" x 6.5", including fanny packs. Backpacks that aren't clear, purses, diaper bags without an approved clear bag, and tinted or patterned plastic bags are all turned away at the gate.
Can our group tailgate at Empower Field at Mile High?
Yes, in the general lots, with a couple of exceptions: tailgating is prohibited in the B-Valet area and in Lot A's carpool section. Lot J runs a separate, ticketed VIP Tailgate experience through a third-party operator that opens three hours before kickoff and doesn't include parking or stadium admission.
How far is Empower Field at Mile High from Broomfield?
Roughly 20 miles, typically down US-36 to I-25 South. Off-peak that's a 30 to 40 minute drive; on a game day, the last couple of miles into the Sun Valley neighborhood slow considerably as lots fill.
Is there a train to Empower Field at Mile High?
RTD's W and E Lines serve the Empower Field at Mile High Station, about an 8-minute walk from the gates, with connections through downtown Union Station to the University of Colorado A Line from the airport. A local 3-hour pass runs $2.75, and an Airport Day Pass runs $10, per RTD's current fares page.
How early should our group arrive for a Broncos game?
General gates open two hours before kickoff, and Club/Suite gates open three hours out. Groups tailgating in Lot C should plan to arrive close to its six-hour-early opening, since that lot is known to fill within the first couple of hours.
What size bus fits our group for a stadium trip?
It comes down to headcount and gear. A Sprinter van comfortably handles a suite group of a dozen or so with light gear; an 18- to 35-passenger minibus fits mid-size tailgate groups with grills and tables; a full 56-passenger charter bus or a party bus suits larger fan groups who want the tailgate to start at pickup.
How far in advance should we book a bus for a Broncos game or a stadium concert?
As early as your date is set. Marquee dates like the Zach Bryan shows and divisional matchups fill up the available vehicles first, and the best sizes and prices go to groups who lock in early rather than the week of the game.
Book Your Empower Field at Mile High Charter Bus or Party Bus Rental Today
Whether it's a Broncos Sunday, a Thursday-night showdown, or a stadium concert weekend, Broomfieldminibuscompany.com helps your group compare charter buses, party buses, minibuses, and Sprinter vans from a large network of bus companies serving Broomfield and the greater Denver area — dropped at the Gate 5 zone, staged and ready when the final whistle blows. Also planning a Nuggets or Avalanche night at Ball Arena or a trip out to Coors Field? Those guides cover their own drop-offs.
Fill out the quick quote form or call 720-452-6240 any time for pricing on your date.
