Denver Summit FC: How the NWSL Came to the Mile High City
In the debut episode of The 5280 Pitch: Women’s Soccer at Altitude, we stepped back from players, tactics, and match previews to answer a much bigger question: how did Denver land an NWSL team? For many fans, it may feel like Denver Summit FC appeared suddenly. A name, a crest, an ownership group, and suddenly Colorado had a top-tier professional women’s soccer team.
The reality is far more intentional.
This Was Never Sudden: The Grassroots Push for Women’s Soccer
Denver Summit FC didn’t begin in a boardroom. It began with community.
In 2022, a group called For Denver FC formed with a clear and focused mission: prove that Denver deserved a professional women’s soccer team. They organized watch parties, built visibility, and created a vocal, public show of demand for women’s professional soccer in Colorado. This wasn’t a vague interest campaign. It was specific. Denver wanted the NWSL — the top women’s league in the world.
Behind the scenes, that grassroots energy was paired with real organization. Investors were identified. Business leaders were engaged. The message to the league was consistent and loud: this market is ready.
That work paid off. In November 2024, Denver was announced as a finalist for the NWSL’s 16th franchise. And on January 30, 2025, it became official. Denver was awarded an expansion team set to begin play in 2026.
With that announcement came a headline number: a reported $110 million expansion fee, the largest in league history. That number matters. It signals how rapidly the NWSL is growing, and it signals that Denver’s ownership group isn’t dabbling. This is a long-term investment, financially and reputationally.
It also marked something bigger. Denver Summit FC became the first major league professional women’s team in Colorado since the Colorado Xplosion folded in the late 1990s. This isn’t just a new logo. It’s the return of women’s professional sports to the state.
A Serious Ownership Group With a Clear Message
Ownership tells you what a club wants to be before a ball is ever kicked, and Denver Summit FC’s ownership group is both broad and intentional.
At the center is Rob Cohen, Chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group, a Denver-based company deeply embedded in the city’s sports ecosystem. Cohen has spent years helping bring major sporting events to Denver and even founded the Denver Sports Commission. His involvement signals strategic thinking about sports as a driver of community and identity.
Then there’s Project Level, tied to Melody Hobson and Jason Wright, a group explicitly focused on investing in women’s sports. That mission is not subtle, and it matters. It tells you this club is aligned with where women’s sports are headed, not where they’ve been.
Local investment is represented through families like the Borgens and Moritzes, who were involved from the For Denver FC days, grounding the club in community advocacy rather than parachute ownership.
Add in investors like Nalema Joshi and Darian Javari from finance backgrounds, and Molly Coors, whose family name is deeply connected to Colorado sports, and a pattern emerges. This is a coalition of people who understand business, sports, and place.
And then there are the names that made national headlines: Mikaela Shiffrin and Peyton Manning. Shiffrin’s involvement sends a powerful message to young athletes, especially girls, that women’s sports are worth investing in at the highest level. Manning’s choice to attach his name to this club reinforces that this isn’t symbolic support — it’s belief.
Taken together, this ownership group sends a clear signal: Denver Summit FC is built to compete, to grow, and to last.
Branding That Invited Fans In
One of the most distinctive parts of the Denver Summit FC story is how the club approached its identity.
The name wasn’t unveiled as a surprise. Fans were invited into the process. More than 15,000 votes and suggestions were submitted, with options like Denver Gold, Denver Elevate, and Colorado 14ers in the mix. Summit ultimately received the most first-place votes.
That matters. Allowing fans to help shape the club’s name builds emotional ownership before a roster even exists.
The crest continues that storytelling. The mountain angle is set at 26 degrees, a nod to the 2026 inaugural season. The colors reference Colorado sunsets, red rock formations, and the iconic green of Colorado license plates. Secondary marks lean into “5280” and Denver’s “D,” reinforcing local pride.
Branding is how a club tells you who it wants to be. Summit is about climbing, about ambition, about always pushing upward — a fitting mindset in a league growing more competitive every year.
Why Denver, and Why Now?
From the league’s perspective, Denver checks every box. A growing metro area. A proven sports market. An existing soccer culture through the Rapids and a massive youth soccer scene. And until now, no major professional women’s sports team.
Altitude isn’t just a marketing hook. It’s a competitive reality. Teams feel it. Athletes train for it. Denver has leveraged it in multiple sports for decades.
The timing is also perfect. Interest in women’s sports is exploding. Attendance records are falling. Media coverage is improving. And Denver Summit FC is already a case study in that growth, with more than 15,000 season ticket deposits reported before a single match has been played — a new NWSL expansion record.
This momentum extends beyond club soccer. Denver has been discussed as a potential host city for future Women’s World Cups. Adding a professional women’s club strengthens the city’s case as a women’s sports hub.
Stadium Plans and Big Ambition
The long-term vision is a purpose-built 14,500-seat stadium at Santa Fe Yards, a redeveloped site south of downtown. If completed, it would be the first stadium in Colorado built specifically for a women’s professional team.
In the short term, Denver Summit FC will play at a temporary 12,000-seat stadium in Centennial near its training facility, with the inaugural home match taking place at Empower Field at Mile High. Opening a new club in the Broncos’ stadium is a statement. It sets expectations. It invites the city in.
Stadium projects are complex, and this story is still unfolding. But the ambition is clear: this club expects fans to show up, and it plans to meet them with real investment.
The Meaning of This Moment
When you step back, the question isn’t “Why Denver?” It’s “Why did it take so long?”
Denver Summit FC represents representation, expectation, and opportunity. Kids in Colorado now grow up with a professional women’s team in their backyard. Fans get to say they were there from the beginning. And the city raises its standard for what women’s sports can and should be.
This is why The 5280 Pitch started before the first match. This moment — before the roster is complete, before the wins and losses — is where identity is formed.
Everything that comes next builds on this foundation.
Women’s Soccer Analyst & Host of The 5280 Pitch & Mom
Kate Hanson is a Colorado native, lifelong soccer fan, and the voice behind The 5280 Pitch. Known for her passion, insight, and unapologetic love for women’s sports, Kate brings a uniquely local perspective to the rise of Denver Summit FC and the NWSL’s expansion into the Mile High City.
A seasoned podcaster and broadcaster, Kate blends storytelling, analysis, and community-focused coverage to keep fans informed and connected — from expansion updates and player profiles to tactical breakdowns and match-week conversations. Her style is direct, energetic, and built for fans who want women’s soccer treated with the same excitement and depth as every other professional sport.
Growing up in Colorado’s soccer culture, Kate understands the significance of a top-tier women’s team finally calling this state home. Her mission is simple:
give fans a place to plug in, learn the stories, and feel part of Denver Summit FC from day one.
When she’s not behind the mic, Kate is usually at a pitch somewhere in Colorado, cheering on the next generation of players who will shape the future of the sport.
