There’s a home plate painted in the middle of Lot J at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. It’s a small tribute to Mile High Stadium, which hosted baseball’s Denver Bears, before the Denver Broncos played in the noisy bowl from 1960 to 2000.

The Denver Broncos think it’s time for a better monument.

“Something to celebrate where the Mile High magic was born,” said Mac Freeman, the Broncos’ head of business development.

Freeman on Wednesday showed the Metropolitan Football Stadium District board the team’s plans to build a mini Mile High. The 11-foot-tall Mile High Monument will be a one-eighth replica of the old Mile High Stadium centered in the middle of Lot J northwest of Sports Authority Field.

With 176 original seats surrounding a 1,250-square-foot padded AstroTurf field, the venue could host as many as 300 people as part of the stadium’s thriving special events program.

Plans call for a replica scoreboard topped with a dime-store-sized rearing Bucky, a Barrel Man statue, a working video screen and tavern-like tables. An interactive component will allow visitors to scan a photo on their smartphones to call up audio of big plays throughout the team’s history. A free standing set of aluminum bleachers will memorialize the rowdy south stands.

The team hopes to begin construction in April, pending city approval. The goal is to have the mini Mile High completed by August in time for the Broncos first pre-season home game.

Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or @jasonblevins