Denver City Council approves final funding for Denver Summit soccer stadium land

Denver's City Council on Monday approved funding to purchase land at Santa Fe Yards by a vote of 10-3, where the newly-founded Denver Summit will build its soccer stadium.

It will be the second purpose-built professional women's soccer stadium in the country, according to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who said city dollars won't be used to fund the construction of the stadium itself, just the land purchase.

"This is a monumental day for South Broadway, for women's soccer and for women's sports, and for Denver as a whole," he said in a statement on Monday. "I am grateful to Councilmembers for their thorough review of this project and their partnership on this transformational project, to Rob Cohen, Jen Millet, and the entire Denver Summit team, and most especially to businesses and neighbors near the stadium, who saw an incredible opportunity and fought to ensure their community would be included in it."

The team plans to build a 14,500-seat stadium at Sante Fe Yards, southwest of Broadway and Interstate 25.

The Summit was founded earlier this year and is the newest team in the National Women's Soccer League. Johnston and team officials say they expect the stadium to open ahead of the team's 2028 season, and it will play its first season in 2026 at a temporary stadium in Centennial.

"Denver Summit FC is extremely pleased with Denver City Council's vote to approve the Santa Fe Yards Stadium project," Summit FC controlling owner Rob Cohen said in a statement on Monday. "We are excited to continue to take the next steps in building a purpose-built, soccer-specific stadium in Denver's urban core for our community, our athletes, and our supporters. We greatly appreciate the support and collaboration from the Denver Community, Denver City Council, WENU, the Mayor's Office, local businesses and our fans and supporters. We look forward to building a stadium that will provide a positive impact on our community for generations to come." 

NWSL announced the creation of the team in January, and even before it had a name, Peyton Manning, Mikaela Shiffrin, Mellody Hobson, and Molly Coors joined the team's ownership group. By late July, the team announced its name.