Denver — It's almost the eve of destruction for Mile High Stadium.
The aging structure that has served as a pro football paradise for more than 40 years will be bashed to bits and the site will become a parking lot for Invesco Field at Mile High.
The wrecking balls and bulldozers are about to tackle the 850,000-square-foot landmark, perhaps as early as this week.
The Denver Broncos' former home looks solid enough to anyone who passes by along Interstate 25. But in truth, demolition crews have been at work since October, removing asbestos and other hazardous materials from the fading structure.
Demolition work was delayed for months so the job would not create a nuisance during games at Invesco Field, which stands next door to the old field that played host to legends such as Floyd Little, John Elway and Craig Morton.
It will cost about $9 million to flatten the old house of pain, which was built in 1948, said Matt Sugar, spokesman for the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, the metro-area entity in charge of erecting Invesco Field and burying Mile High.
The old field, originally called Bears Stadium, was the site of baseball games when it was built. It became the Broncos' home turf in 1960 and was renamed Mile High Stadium in 1968.
The heavy hitting from demolition equipment is expected to start between Thursday and Jan. 15. The destruction is expected to last about 90 days. A crew of about 30 from Turner Construction of Denver will do the dirty work.
The demolition teams will start with the south stands, former home to some of the loudest fans in the game. Armed with large cutting backhoes, the workers will rip apart the stands. The toppled slices of steel will be chopped into portable pieces and hauled off, melted and eventually recycled.
About 8,000 tons of steel remain inside Mile High Stadium.
Once the south stands are gone, workers will take on the west stands, then the north stands and conclude with the eastern section of the stadium.
The final demolition work will focus on the tons of concrete that make up three-fourths of a lower bowl inside the stadium. Hydraulic hammers will be used to obliterate the concrete. What remains will be used as filler for a parking lot large enough for 1,100 cars.
An assortment of Mile High detritus, such as carpeting and drywall, will be hauled to an Aurora landfill.
When it's gone, Mile High will not be forgotten. Bits and pieces of the stadium have been sold to fans.
About $800,000 was raised through the sale of 6,000 Mile High seats. Thousands of blue and orange seats remain inside the old stadium. But the final sale on those items ended in early November. The money raised was used to pay for public art displays outside Invesco Field.
Mile High fans snagged pieces of turf when the city of Denver offered Bronco loyalists a chance to buy 6-foot by 18-inch strips of grass from the field for $10 each.
Souvenir hunters are now out of luck unless they're interested in recycled building supplies.
City officials will use the wrecking ground as a setting for emergency response exercises, said Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb.
Emergency response crews held similar practice sessions when McNichols Arena was demolished two years ago.
Hudson said the city does not plan any final farewell to Mile High.
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