Key vote on proposed Denver Summit FC stadium delayed, but councilwoman feels confident plan will come together

Denver City Council has delayed a key vote on the proposed Denver Summit FC stadium once again. The delay comes with the clock ticking for a plan to be finalized for the new National Women's Soccer League team's home.

Despite the delay, Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez said on Tuesday she's feeling confident about a deal coming together and the city avoiding losing the team's stadium possibly to a suburban area.

On Monday night, neighbors shared comments at a city council meeting on the potential of a soccer stadium being built in their neighborhood. Supporters of the stadium plan urged the council to move the process forward and others expressed uncertainty about whether the city has done enough to vet the area.

The current delay of the vote is not about whether a stadium should happen, but how.

"I think there is a perception that this is malice or lack of cooperation, and that's not what this is at all," Alvidrez said. "The delay at council last night was because we want to make sure that the funding and the zoning go together."

Alvidrez represents the city's District 7, where the stadium would be built on what is known as the Santa Fe Yards right now.

"It would do no good to have this land rezoned and not have funding to provide the infrastructure that the land needs," Alvidrez said. "So it really needed to be a package deal with that."

Alvidrez said she "reached out to the team to see if they would prefer that" and she says they agreed.

Council members said they wanted to review the entire package together, including funding and zoning, instead of approving pieces separately.

Now with the community benefits agreement on deck, too, Alvidrez feels good about things coming together by Dec. 22, which is the next scheduled city council meeting where the issue will come up.

"Everyone agreed that having it all together would be ideal," she said. "We'll reach an agreement by Dec. 22 I feel pretty confident. I think having the community benefit agreement and having community members on board was the key piece that we are missing, and people seem very excited about the possibility."

Denver Summit FC's inaugural season begins next year and the team is planning to have their first home game in their new stadium in 2028.