The new women’s soccer team that intends to make Denver its home is threatening to move elsewhere if city officials don’t approve its plans — and a $50 million contribution from the city — soon.
Officials with Denver Summit FC, the group led by majority owner Rob Cohen that landed a National Women’s Soccer League expansion franchise, have said the team must build a stadium ready for play by March 2028. Last March, Cohen said the location for that stadium would be the Santa Fe Yards site in Denver’s Baker neighborhood.
Now, team leaders say that plan is under stress because of delays from the Denver City Council. Last week, a council committee postponed four items related to the stadium, saying there was a lack of detail in the city’s financial agreement with the team.
“Given the challenges we have faced in the Denver City Council process, we are currently pursuing a parallel path regarding the stadium site and engaging with other jurisdictions outside Denver,” said team spokesman Brendan Hannan.
Hannan said the team would not make public which other cities it is negotiating with for a possible permanent stadium. It was unclear if it was seeking alternative sites in metro Denver, or even farther away.
Members of the Denver council committee say they’re doing their job of ensuring the deal is a good use of taxpayer dollars.
“Denver wants this team here … but Denver cannot be pressured into rushing through an agreement worth millions of dollars without a finished community benefits agreement, completed infrastructure planning and transparent financial terms,” said Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, who represents Baker.
The delay on stadium votes is just the latest example of the breakdown in trust between Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and council members. The two branches of the city’s government have clashed on multiple occasions in recent months, including when the council rejected the mayor’s budget plan for 2026 this month. The plan will still go into effect, but several members used the vote as an opportunity to say they want to see changes.
Council President Amanda Sandoval, who asked the bulk of the questions during the committee meeting on the stadium agreement on Wednesday, said she would not sign off on incomplete documents.
“Fifty million dollars is a lot,” she said. “I want to know exactly where the money is going.”
Denver officials have said the city will invest up to $70 million in the project. It would purchase the land where the stadium would be built and make improvements to the surrounding area with those dollars.
The city also recently agreed to build a pedestrian bridge linking the stadium site to a nearby RTD light rail station. The committee considered an initial $50 million allocation during the committee meeting last week.
Sandoval said it’s still possible for the council to approve all the necessary items before the end of the year but added that she hasn’t received any answers to the questions she asked. The committee approved a proposed rezoning for the land, and it will have a public hearing Dec. 15.
The council committee is still considering the four other items, including ones that would allocate the $50 million and make changes to the intergovernmental agreement with the team. One of those changes is adding the city’s pledge to build a pedestrian bridge and another would be settling more details related to the already-existing urban renewal district on the land, which is part of the site of the former Gates Rubber Co.
The remaining items are set to return to the South Platte River Committee on Dec. 10. If approved during that meeting, they could be on the full council’s agenda Dec. 15 or 22.
In a statement, a spokesman for Johnston — who has spearheaded the efforts to bring the women’s soccer team to Denver — said he was working with all parties to reach an agreement.
“Losing this team would be devastating for the thousands of people who have already fallen in love with this franchise and the small businesses who are counting on the boost it will bring,” Jon Ewing said in the statement.
Hannan said the team planned to continue engaging “in an open and honest dialogue with the mayor, City Council and community in Denver.”
The team is also still in the process of developing a community benefits agreement with the neighbors of the project. Though the city isn’t a party in that agreement, the council typically waits until one has already been negotiated to give projects final approval.
The team announced in September that it had reached 15,000 season ticket deposits for its inaugural 2026 season. The Summit FC plans to play at a temporary stadium in Centennial until its permanent home is built.
Staff writer Kyle Newman contributed to this story.
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