A bipartisan bill introduced into the Colorado legislature Tuesday afternoon would ensure the name “Mile High” lives on forever, regardless of other naming deals for the Denver Broncos’ stadium.

The legislation was filed coincidentally just as Sports Authority, which currently holds naming rights to the stadium, announced it has no hope of surviving the $1.1 billion debt that forced the company into bankruptcy. New corporate interests could soon line up for naming rights to the Super Bowl champions home field.

“Broncos fans throughout Denver and Colorado have been uniformly supportive of the Denver Broncos,” said Rep. Dan Pabon, a Democrat from Denver who is sponsoring the bill. “They’ve supported the building of their stadium. They’ve been supportive of the team. They’ve celebrated victory and we have a taxpayer-funded parade to support them.”

A spokesman for the Broncos said the organization had no comment.

The name costs Sports Authority about $6 million to $7 million a year. Sports Authority took over the name of the stadium in 2011, forging a deal that was supposed to last until 2035.

Under the bill, corporate suitors could still include their brand in the name, but they would have to retain Mile High, as the sporting goods franchise did with Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The Broncos have played in some variation of the Mile High name since 1968, when Mile High Stadium replaced Bears Stadium, which was named for the former Denver professional baseball team.

A then-$400 million stadium opened in 2001, built with a special tax applied in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder Jefferson and Douglas counties. Taxpayers ponied up 75 percent of the stadium’s cost. The Broncos paid the rest.

The Denver’ Metropolitan Football Stadium District, which oversees the stadium, already has been fielding interest from other possible sponsors, a spokesman said last month.

Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or @joeybunch