How Denver Summit FC Went From Idea to 45,000 Strong: An Interview with Jordan Angeli

In the spring of 2023, Jordan Angeli received a direct message on Twitter from someone she'd never met. The message asked if she wanted to help bring an NWSL team to Denver.

Two years later, Denver Summit FC has sold over 45,000 tickets for its inaugural home game—before playing a single match.

That Twitter DM came from Tom Dunmore, who along with Ben Hubbard had started For Denver FC—a grassroots movement to prove Denver could support a women's professional soccer team. Angeli, a Colorado native and former NWSL player, responded immediately.

"I had talked about this for years," Angeli said on The 5280 Pitch podcast. "The hardest part is just finding the connections that have the money, the capital to be able to bring a soccer team here. I didn't know anybody who has millions and millions of dollars that I could say, 'Hey, this will be successful here.'"

But Dunmore and Hubbard had something Angeli had been missing: a plan. Dunmore had built Indy Eleven from a grassroots movement. He knew how to organize. And Angeli knew Colorado soccer.

"After a couple of meetings, I was like, I think we can really make this happen," she said.

Building a Fanbase for a Team That Didn't Exist

In summer 2023, during the Women's World Cup, For Denver FC launched publicly. The strategy: create demand before securing an owner.

They organized watch parties at Number 38 bar. Lines wrapped around the block. Over 1,500 people showed up to the first event.

"Our idea was to make it feel like Atlanta United," Angeli explained. "Their fans were wild even before the team stepped on the pitch. We wanted to show a potential owner: you don't have to excite this market. This market's already there. We just need somebody to see the vision."

The group had already done groundwork. They had conversations with the mayor and governor. They had identified Centennial as the training facility site. They had stadium concepts ready.

All they needed was someone with the capital to make it real.

"This Is the Guy"

In October 2023, Rob Cohen entered the picture. The chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group had tried to bring a WNBA team to Denver. That bid failed. But he wasn't done trying to bring professional women's sports to Colorado.

"That first conversation we had with him in October, I was like, this is the guy," Angeli said. "He loves Colorado. He raised his whole family here. This guy loves sports. He loved the idea of owning soccer in Denver."

Cohen became the majority owner. The ownership group expanded to include Peyton Manning, Mikaela Shiffrin, and the For Denver FC founders. On January 30, 2025, the NWSL awarded Denver its 16th franchise.

"I still had this feeling like this is gonna work out," Angeli said. "I would just get little glimpses—little God winks—of like, all right, here's what it's gonna feel like in the stadium."

No Corners Cut

Since securing the franchise, Denver Summit FC has moved methodically. Every decision—from hiring Nick Cushing as head coach to signing Lindsey Heaps to building the training facility—has signaled long-term ambition.

"There's no corners that are being cut," Angeli said. "Even the training facility is going to be top, best of the best. Not even just in women's soccer. This is in soccer."

Cohen's involvement extends beyond capital. He attends matches. He knows the staff. He stood in the team huddle after the first preseason game in Santa Barbara.

"When you know who the owner is, you feel like you know who you're playing for," Angeli said. "I've been on teams where I never met the owner. It was just like, yeah, we've got the soccer team or whatever. That is the opposite of what it feels like here."

Lindsey Heaps Comes Home

Angeli trained with Lindsey Heaps when Heaps was 15 years old. She watched Heaps develop from a phenom at Rush into a World Cup champion and USWNT captain.

When Heaps told Angeli she was signing with Denver Summit—long before the public announcement—the emotion hit immediately.

"For me, it's hard not to get emotional," Angeli said. "I trained with Lindsey when she was 15 years old. I could see what a phenom she was. To watch her go from that to where she is now and to be friends and to support her, watch her win a World Cup—all these things that I now get to see her play for her hometown team is honestly like one of the best feelings ever."

Angeli never played professionally in Colorado. Her NWSL career with Boston Breakers, Washington Spirit, and Western New York Flash meant her family couldn't watch her play in person. Her neighbors never saw her on a professional field.

"That has been my why for all these players to get to experience something that I never got to experience," she said. "I can't wait to see families in the stands supporting their daughters who play for the Summit."

Five players on Denver's roster are from Colorado: Heaps, Janine Sonis, Jordan Nytes, Ally Brazier, and Jordan Baggett.

Why Colorado Produces Elite Talent

Colorado consistently produces USWNT-caliber players. Heaps, Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Jaelin Howell all grew up in the state.

Angeli attributes it to competition within Colorado itself.

"Some of our best competition actually came from teams just right around the corner from us," she said. "The hardest games we played were winning the State Cup championship. Competition breeds success."

The altitude factors in. The snow toughens players up. The wind makes training miserable. But all of it builds resilience.

"There's a toughness, a tenacity, a real humility about players coming from Colorado," Angeli said.

That altitude will become a tactical weapon for Denver Summit. Angeli knows from experience that the first 15 minutes and the final 15 minutes are when oxygen deprivation hits hardest.

"If I'm thinking about this team and how they could be really successful, those are the two parts," she said. "Can you punish teams at the beginning of the game? Can you punish teams at the end when altitude really can kick in?"

What Success Looks Like

Angeli has covered the NWSL as a broadcaster for years. She's seen expansion teams struggle. She's also seen teams like Gotham turn everything around mid-season and win championships.

For Denver, she defines success clearly: make the playoffs.

"Once you make playoffs, anything can happen," she said. "Just look what Gotham did last year. They were not good the first half of the year, and then they win a good chunk of games in the second half, find themselves in that last playoff spot, and they say, all right, we're going to win."

The opening schedule tests that goal immediately. Denver travels to Bay FC, then Orlando, then hosts Gotham midweek, then faces Washington Spirit at home on March 28.

"Orlando, champions two years ago. Gotham, champions last year. Washington Spirit played in both of those championship games," Angeli said. "I think that's a good litmus test right there."

"I Cried When I Saw Them"

Angeli knew the team kit colors about a year before they were publicly revealed. She'd been involved in the naming committee when the franchise was awarded in January 2025.

But seeing the full kits—gold and green, sharp and clean—hit differently.

"Kate, you've talked to me long enough. Like I cry a lot," Angeli said. "And I cried when I saw them. The first time I saw them was at the Lindsey Heaps photo shoot. I just had goosebumps everywhere. I can't believe this is what we're gonna—I can't wait to get mine."

March 28

Denver Summit FC faces Washington Spirit at Empower Field at Mile High on March 28, 2026. Over 45,000 tickets have been sold. The team is now selling upper bowl seats.

For Angeli, that number validates everything. The watch parties with lines around the block. The pitch to Rob Cohen. The belief that Denver could support this team.

"You've inherited the Broncos, you've inherited the Nuggets and the Rockies—all these franchises started so long ago," she said. "This one is starting now and you can be a fan from the beginning. That's a really special thing. It doesn't happen all that often."

She paused.

"I hope we all can just remember that day as a historic day in Denver, Colorado."