How to Hire Event Staff for Empower Field
Empower Field at Mile High on a packed event day, with Denver skyline in the background
Empower Field at Mile High is not just a football stadium. It is one of the busiest multi-use venues in the western United States, hosting over 300 events every year — from Denver Broncos game days and sold-out concerts to corporate meetings, brand activations, and international sporting events. When 76,000 fans flood the seating bowl, or a Fortune 500 company books the Champions Club for a client reception, the experience they have is almost entirely determined by the people on the ground.
If you are planning an event at Empower Field — whether you are a brand running a concourse activation, an agency managing a product launch, or a corporate client hosting a private function — knowing how to hire event staff at Empower Field at Mile High is the most important operational decision you will make.
This guide walks you through every step: the roles you need, realistic cost expectations, how to size your team, what to look for in a staffing partner, and how to get the right people booked and briefed before event day.
Why Empower Field Events Demand Professional Staffing
Venue Scale and Event Complexity
Empower Field at Mile High seats 76,125 fans across five levels of seating and encompasses 1.8 million square feet of total space. The venue offers over 200,000 square feet of dedicated indoor event space, including the United Club Level, the Bud Light Champions Club, the Suite Promenade, and the Production Bay — each with its own traffic flow, guest expectations, and operational requirements.
At that scale, informal or last-minute staffing is a liability. Corporate guests arriving for a skybox reception and general admission concertgoers navigating a crowded concourse need equally attentive, professional staff — and the systems that support those staff need to be in place well before doors open.
The Activation Opportunity Inside Mile High
For brands, Empower Field represents one of the highest-density experiential marketing stages in Colorado. Broncos game days routinely draw 70,000-plus attendees. Concert events have featured global headliners. The stadium's public spaces — plazas, concourses, tailgate areas, and club levels — are prime real estate for sampling campaigns, product launches, and brand experiences.
Running a successful brand activation here means having trained brand ambassadors who can engage fans quickly, distribute samples accurately, capture lead data efficiently, and represent your brand professionally in a high-energy, high-noise environment. That skill set requires a staffing partner with genuine experiential depth, not a general temp agency.
Staff Roles You Need at Empower Field — By Event Type
Not every event at Empower Field requires the same team. Here is a breakdown by common event type.
NFL Game Days and Concerts
These are the highest-volume events at the venue. Your staffing needs center on crowd management and guest experience at scale.
Ushers and Guest Relations Staff: Direct guests to their sections, resolve seating issues, and maintain a welcoming atmosphere in high-traffic zones.
Crowd Control Staff: Manage entry points, concourse bottlenecks, and post-event egress — critical for events exceeding 60,000 attendees.
Registration and Credential Staff: For VIP suites, sponsor lounges, and access-controlled areas, dedicated check-in staff eliminates bottlenecks.
Brand Ambassador Teams: If your brand has a concourse presence, sponsorship activation, or sampling station, trained ambassadors drive meaningful consumer engagement in the windows before kickoff, at halftime, and during intermissions.
Corporate Events and Private Functions
Empower Field actively books private corporate events across its club levels, suites, and specialty spaces. A client reception in the Champions Club or a company meeting in the Suite Promenade calls for a different staffing profile than a game day.
Event Hosts and Greeters: First-impression staff who meet guests at the entrance, manage check-in, and set the tone for the event.
Waitstaff and Bartenders: For catered receptions, product showcases, and client dinners, professional food and beverage staff are essential.
Production Assistants: For presentations, award ceremonies, or media events inside the venue, PAs handle AV logistics, speaker management, and on-site coordination.
Brand Activations and Experiential Campaigns
Brands running activations adjacent to or inside Empower Field — in the stadium plazas, at tailgate zones, or in sponsor-designated areas — need experiential staff who can do more than hand out flyers.
Product Demonstrators: Staff trained to demo, explain, and upsell your product in a live environment.
Street Teams and Pop-Up Staff: For pre-event and post-event outdoor footprint, mobile street teams build brand presence across the high-traffic corridors around the stadium.
Lead Capture and Data Staff: Ambassadors who manage digital activations, QR code captures, sweepstakes entry, and consumer data collection in compliance with brand protocols.
Professional event staff greeting corporate guests inside a stadium club level room
How Many Staff Do You Actually Need?
Staffing ratios depend on event type, venue layout, and the specific function your team is serving. The following benchmarks are industry-standard starting points — your staffing partner should refine these during the briefing process.
Staffing Ratios by Event Size
| Event Type | Recommended Staff | Supervision |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Activation (300–500 attendees) | 4–8 brand ambassadors | 1 team captain |
| Corporate Reception (100–300 guests) | 4–6 hosts/greeters + waitstaff | 1 event supervisor |
| Concert or Game Day Activation | 8–20+ ambassadors | 2–3 captains |
| Stadium-Wide Crowd Management | 1 staff per 250–300 attendees | Zone supervisors per level |
| VIP Suite or Club Event (50–100 guests) | 2–4 hosts + bar staff | 1 lead coordinator |
For large-scale events, built-in backup coverage. A reliable staffing agency should include briefed backups as part of the booking — typically one backup for every eight staff deployed — so your event runs at full strength regardless of last-minute changes.
What Does It Cost to Hire Event Staff at Empower Field?
Event staffing costs in Denver vary by role, experience level, and event duration. The following ranges reflect typical market rates for qualified, vetted staff at major venues.
Typical Rate Ranges by Role
| Role | Hourly Rate (Approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Ambassador | $22–$30/hr | Entry to the experienced level |
| Experiential / Lead BA | $28–$40/hr | High-engagement, bilingual, or trained specialists |
| Event Host / Greeter | $22–$28/hr | Corporate receptions, VIP check-in |
| Crowd Control Staff | $20–$28/hr | Concourse, gate, egress management |
| Waitstaff | $22–$30/hr | Catered events, club-level service |
| Bartender | $28–$38/hr | Licensed, experienced event bartenders |
| Production Assistant | $25–$35/hr | AV, logistics, speaker management |
| Event Captain / Supervisor | $35–$50/hr | On-site team leads |
How Flat-Rate Pricing Works
Some premium agencies — including Eleven8 Event Staff — operate on flat hourly pricing with no hidden agency fees layered on top. This pricing model gives corporate clients and brand managers a clean budget number from the outset. What you see is what you pay. Compare this against traditional temp-to-hire models that add markup percentages on top of already-inflated bill rates.
When evaluating quotes, ask specifically whether the rate includes insurance coverage for staff, what the cancellation and minimum-hours policy is, and whether backup staff coverage is built into the price.
The Hiring Process: Step-by-Step
Hiring event staff for Empower Field is not complicated when you work with the right partner. Here is a clear process to follow.
An event staff team in a pre-shift briefing before a major stadium activation
Step 1: Define Your Event Scope
Before you contact any agency, be clear on the basics: event date and duration, expected attendee count, venue area (concourse, club level, plaza, suite), what you need staff to do (sampling, crowd management, check-in, service), and your preferred staff appearance or dress code.
The clearer your brief, the more accurately an agency can match staff to your needs and provide an accurate quote. Vague briefs generate vague proposals.
Step 2: Select Your Staffing Partner
Choose a staffing agency with demonstrable experience at major stadium and venue events in Denver. Ask for references from comparable events, confirm their fulfillment rate, ask how they handle cancellations and no-shows, and verify that all staff are fully insured.
Nationwide agencies with a local Denver roster offer the best of both worlds: proven operational systems built on thousands of events and staff who know the Denver market, the Mile High energy, and the expectations of Colorado event audiences.
Step 3: Brief Your Team
A thorough pre-event briefing is the difference between competent execution and an exceptional one. Provide your team with venue access instructions, parking and load-in details, brand guidelines (if applicable), the event run-of-show, escalation contacts, and a clear description of what success looks like for this activation or event.
Ask your staffing agency whether they provide a dedicated account manager to handle all team communications separately from client communications. This dual-channel approach keeps your event day clean and prevents confusion.
Step 4: Day-of Management
On event day, your agency's on-site supervisor — or team captain — should be the operational hub. They manage check-in, confirm positioning, handle real-time adjustments, and serve as the first point of contact for any issues that arise. You should not be troubleshooting staffing logistics while also running your activation.
The best agencies provide 24/7 event-day support, meaning your account manager is reachable in real time even if they are not physically on-site.
Step 5: Post-Event Recap
After the event, request a written recap from your staffing agency: hours worked, notable observations from the team, any incidents logged, and recommendations for future activations. This data is valuable for refining your next event brief and building institutional knowledge about what works at Empower Field specifically.
What to Look for in a Denver Event Staffing Agency
Vetting and Training Standards
The quality of event staff starts with how the agency recruits and trains. Look for agencies that publish their acceptance rate (the more selective, the better), provide role-specific training, not just generic onboarding, have a formal event briefing process for every booking, and can demonstrate experience at comparable high-volume, high-profile venues.
Generic staffing agencies pull from broad temp pools. Specialist event staffing agencies — those focused exclusively on events, activations, and live experiences — build rosters of people who have chosen event work as a career, not a side gig. That self-selection produces better results on event day meaningfully.
Backup Coverage and Fulfillment Rate
No-shows happen. The question is whether your staffing agency has a system to handle them before they become your problem. Ask every agency you consider: What is your fulfillment rate? Do you carry brief backups for every booking? How quickly can you replace a no-show?
A fulfillment rate above 99% — combined with built-in backup coverage — means your event runs at full strength regardless of what happens on the morning of.
Why Eleven8 Event Staff for Empower Field
Eleven8 Event Staff is a nationwide premium event staffing agency with over 35 years of experience placing vetted, trained staff at major venues and brand activations across the United States. With 34,521 events staffed, a 101.80% fulfillment rate, and exclusive partnerships with brands like Nike, Porsche, and Netflix, Eleven8 brings a level of operational discipline and talent quality that generic staffing companies cannot match.
What makes Eleven8 the right partner for Empower Field events:
Top 3.5% acceptance rate: Every staff member has passed a rigorous selection process and completed Eleven8's 11-step event training program before being placed on any booking.
24,821 active staff ready to deploy: No recruitment delays. The roster exists. When you book, you get qualified people, not an open call.
Dedicated account manager: One point of contact oversees your entire activation — from inquiry to post-event recap.
Built-in backup coverage: A briefed backup is included for every 8 staff deployed, at no additional charge.
Flat hourly pricing, no agency fees: Transparent cost structure from day one.
Nationwide footprint: Whether your brand activation extends to other markets or venues, Eleven8 can scale with you.
Ready to book qualified event staff for your next event at Empower Field at Mile High? Submit your event details through the Eleven8 inquiry form at
elev8.la/book-now, and a dedicated account manager will respond with a tailored proposal.
