These bad Broncos aren’t just bad for fans — they’re bad for business. Bar and restaurant employees working game days can attest to that.

But don’t take their word for it. The team’s losing ways — six straight defeats — have become such a problem in 2017, they’ve prompted criticism from the governor.

“As a former restaurateur, I can tell you it’s an economic issue as well. When the Broncos won, our sales would be up 6 to 7 percent for the first couple days, (and) for the week, it would average 4 to 5 percent. And when they lose, you’re down 3 to 4 percent,” Gov. John Hickenlooper told reporters this week. “I think I can speak for the retail business community that the Broncos better start winning.”

Management at Wynkoop Brewing Company, which is the Lower Downtown brewpub in which Hickenlooper sold his stake in 2007, agreed with its former boss.

“We do see a slump,” Wynkoop manager Aaron Halbmaier said. “It’s not as pronounced as at some of the other more sports-oriented places. There is just less energy and fewer people on the streets after a Denver loss.”

A few blocks away on Blake Street, longtime Colorado sports-fan heaven the Sports Column is feeling the down-year drag. Manager Kyle Hesseltine said the bar has seen about a 10 percent decrease in people coming in to watch games in each of the past three weeks. In 2016, when the Broncos were competitive but narrowly missed the playoffs, fans were engaged. In 2017, not so much.

“Last year, we didn’t have an open seat in the house,” Hesseltine said. “Now we’re half, three-quarters full, maybe.”

It’s not what’s happened so far that worries Hesseltine — it’s what’s to come. As long as there is hope of a playoff spot, Broncos fans will come out, support their team and spend some money. With the team at 3-7 and that hope all but extinguished, why not go skiing or, heck, fit in a round of golf on a Sunday in sunny Colorado?

“Are people going to go out and cheer on the Broncos or are they going to save up money to buy their family presents?” Hesseltine said. “(Our) staff is making less money. This is their livelihood. Luckily we have a good college football crowd. That helps.”

Quantifying just how big a drain the bad Broncos season can be on the local economy is tricky. The Downtown Denver Partnership doesn’t track statistics on business after losses. Visit Denver, the city’s tourism and convention bureau, has no such data, either.

One business that isn’t struggling amid the team’s malaise is Sports Authority Field at Mile High, where the Broncos play. ESPN’s attendance tracker has the Broncos sixth in the league, averaging 76,566 paying customers per home game, ahead of likely playoff teams such as the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs.

Stadium district businesses such as the Denver Field House — an event venue and, on game days, bar at 1600 Federal Blvd. — seem to be doing just fine, packing in Broncomaniacs before, during and after games. But the energy is different.

“We used to have more of a celebratory crowd in there, and now I think they are drowning their sorrows instead of celebrating,” owner Lisa Vedovelli said of the 3-year-old Field House. “Especially that first season, (in 2015, when the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl in 2015), everyone was just riding such a high. Coming in and doing shots. Now they are coming in to have a beer or two, then taking off after they wait out the traffic.” Related Articles September 22, 2020 Broncos Mailbag: Why didn’t Melvin Gordon get a chance on third- or fourth-down Sunday on final drive?

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Retail is weathering this season better than hospitality businesses, according to Derek Friedman. Friedman owns Sportsfan, a family-fun group of four sports apparel and merchandise stores, with two locations on the 16th Street Mall and one by the stadium. He said his shops have not seen a significant sales dip this season. Nostalgia has been a driver. Strong sellers include jerseys for Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis, honored on the field before Sunday’s game, and anything with the team’s classic “D” logo on it.

“We’re not unhappy with our sales results to this point this year. We’re actually pretty happy,” Friedman said.

“There’s been a little bit less movement on the (Trevor) Siemian jerseys than we saw earlier on in the season,” he said of the Broncos’ former starting quarterback who was benched several weeks ago.

Retailers can also sell the future. Friedman said if the Broncos season totally bottoms out and the teams gets a high pick in next year’s NFL draft, that presents an opportunity to sell merchandise around a new, possibly marketable player. At one of the Sportsfan locations on the 16th Street Mall, a Paxton Lynch jersey was hung in the window Wednesday morning, the same day the former first-round pick was officially named the Broncos’ starting quarterback for Sunday’s game at Oakland.

Count the Blake Street Tavern, a nearly block-long sports bar at 2301 Blake St., among the businesses feeling a pinch this year. Assistant general manager Tyler Ziskin said the bar, which can hold more than 1,000 people, has seen crowds as small as 200 for some games this season. Ziskin said that’s life for a sports bar. When teams are bad, fans spend less money. He thinks the groans from the business community this year come, in part, from the fact the Broncos have mostly been competitive for the past 30 years.

“I grew up in Cleveland,” Ziskin said. “Believe me, it could be worse.”