ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Pat Surtain II on Tuesday was still navigating “the maze” that is the Denver Broncos’ glistening new $175 million training facility. It was too early for the standout cornerback to name a favorite room or amenity inside the state-of-the-art building that officially welcomed the team’s veterans for their first day of work Tuesday. He just kept coming back to one prevailing thought: “I don’t think there’s nothing like this in the league.”Quinn Meinerz already had a top perk in mind when he spoke to reporters on report day ahead of Friday’s official start of training camp.“I got to park underground,” the All-Pro right guard said, “and when I get done with practice, my truck’s not going to be 150 degrees, so that’s a nice little thing.”Jaylen Waddle was all Denver Broncos needed this offseasonDerrik KlassenThe 205,000-square-foot facility, built across the practice field from the building that housed the team the previous 25 years, is jam-packed with player-friendly bells and whistles nestled inside a sprawling new locker room, an expanded modern weight room and an expanded training room. It’s all designed with player flow in mind, reducing the steps between their daily destinations.As Meinerz worked his way through the building this week, he took stock of what the new surroundings represented for a team with championship aspirations.“It couldn’t be better (to be in) a new facility, new place to park; everything is new and I’m excited about that,” he said. “I think there is some power to when you’re trying to get to that next chapter of life, of having more new things around you.”Plans for a new facility began coming together shortly after the ownership group led by Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner purchased the team ahead of the 2022 season. Construction began in September of 2024 on a building that would not only have more space to accommodate player needs, but also room to house business-side members of the organization who previously worked at the team’s stadium in Denver.The Broncos won all three of the franchise’s Lombardi Trophies (1997, 1998, 2015) during their quarter-century stay inside the team’s previous building. After falling four points shy of a trip to the Super Bowl in January, the Broncos believe they can connect this new era to its championship past. They arrived this week with a healthy Bo Nix at quarterback, the piece they were missing in a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. They’ll take the field with a new play caller in newly promoted offensive coordinator Davis Webb. They’ll both utilize a speedy new target in Jaylen Waddle when camp practices kick into gear this week. All while welcoming back nearly every member of a defense that has been one of the NFL’s best the past two years.It is, on paper, the sturdiest foundation the Broncos have had entering a season in more than a decade. In reality, head coach Sean Payton has stressed since the spring that none of that guarantees the Broncos profound success in 2026. It starts at the start. Denver went 12-3 in one-score games last season, including the playoffs. Their 11 such regular-season victories tied an NFL record. If there has been an early theme disseminated from Payton to his players, it’s that the Broncos are bound to experience more heartbreak if they live along that razor’s edge as frequently as they did last season.“Part of getting better is reflecting,” Meinerz said. “As a player, I do individual reflection of how I can be better — as a teammate, player, community member — and part of a head coach’s job is he has the management of the team. How can this team get better? That was one that he has made clear to us as players. ‘Hey, it’s cool that we have this backbone to not flinch in one-score games and have this almost clutch element to our defense or our offense, but (last year’s record in those games) doesn’t happen very often. Staying out of those situations and capitalizing early in those games, I think we’ve all kind of felt that. The offense kind of took a bit to get going. It was like this slow, like how a train takes time to get loaded up and get going. Once it does, we have a lot of success there. That’s going to be our emphasis here in camp.”Among the Broncos who reported for work Tuesday was outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, according to a league source. Cooper was excused from the team’s minicamp in June after being arrested twice earlier in the month following incidents involving his then-girlfriend. He faces a second-degree felony charge of assault by strangulation following an initial incident June 4. He was arrested again on June 12 after allegedly violating a protection order stemming from the first incident. He is next scheduled in court for an arraignment on Aug. 31. It is unclear if Cooper will practice when the team takes the field later this week. The NFL is still reviewing his case as the legal process continues, a league spokesman told The Athletic last month. Payton is scheduled to address reporters Wednesday.Cooper’s status counts as a rare bit of uncertainty for the Broncos from a personnel perspective as camp opens. A pair of reserves — offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo and inside linebacker Jordan Turner — will begin camp on the physically unable to perform and non-football injury lists, respectively. That means left guard Ben Powers, who missed most of the offseason program while dealing with a foot injury, a league source confirmed, has been cleared to participate. Powers and the Broncos agreed to a restructured contract on the final year of his deal that reduced his $12.5 million base salary but offered an increase on his guaranteed $5.43 million prorated signing bonus for this year. It’s a move that figures to keep the Broncos’ starting five on the offensive line in place for the third straight season.For all the continuity and familiarity, though, the feeling Tuesday as the Broncos began the long march toward a highly anticipated season was unmistakably new.“It just gives a different feel, a different vibe,” Surtain said. “We’re leaving that in the past and it’s a new (facility), a new year. To be able to be in this building with the guys, it’s quite special.”