DENVER — Denver Summit FC shattered the NWSL’s single-game attendance record Saturday afternoon, drawing 63,004 fans to Empower Field at Mile High for its inaugural home match, a 0-0 draw against the Washington Spirit branded as “The Kickoff.”
The crowd surpassed the league’s previous high of 40,091, set by Bay FC at Oracle Park last season, by 57%, delivering a powerful early signal of demand in the NWSL’s newest market. Enthusiasm for the expansion club was evident on site, with thousands of fans arriving early to tailgate and merchandise lines remaining long deep into the second half.
“It’s a surreal feeling to walk into the stadium to see this crowd, this excitement, the enthusiasm just coming through the parking lot,” said Summit FC owner Rob Cohen. “Even trying to get to the building today was just eye-opening. I came quite early, and they were out in the parking lots, partying, having a great time, which is what you want to see.”
Summit FC will play their next two home matches at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in nearby Commerce City, Colo., before moving into a purpose-built temporary stadium in July. Last week, the club finalized the purchase of land at the Santa Fe Yards property where it plans to build its permanent home stadium and mixed-use district.
Cohen said the record-setting opener should accelerate the club’s commercial momentum, particularly on the sponsorship front.
“[We had] 14 months to take a team from scratch to where we are today and put it on the field, and things like partnerships and sponsorships take time to develop,” Cohen said. “It takes time to build those relationships. So, I’m very confident that we’ll have a front-of-kit sponsor, we’ll fill out the rest of it. Some of that just takes time, and our team’s working hard on it.”
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman expects the turnout for Summit FC’s opener to inspire other clubs to take their own runs at the record.
“It has spurred a whole bunch of really fun and productive conversations among other clubs to say, ‘Maybe we should look at playing a game or two at a bigger building in our city and maybe we could break their record,” Berman said. “And we welcome that kind of banter and competition amongst our owners.”
The NWSL league office seized on the momentum heading into Summit FC’s opener, holding both its inaugural Advisory Board meeting and its annual Partner Summit on Friday in Denver.
Those in attendance from the Advisory Board, which is made up of high-profile investors in NWSL clubs, included Eli Manning (Gotham FC), Jordan Angeli (Denver Summit), Brandi Chastain (Bay FC), Julie Foudy (Angel City), Bryce Young (Portland Thorns), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave) and Aly Raisman (Boston Legacy).
About a hundred executives from the league’s existing sponsors and media partners attended the Partner Summit, which was led by NWSL SVP/Partnerships & Business Development Matt Soloff. Speakers included Berman, Raisman, NWSL VP/Sporting Sarah Gregorius, Portland Thorns President of Soccer Operations & GM Jeff Agoos, The Team President Brands & Properties Liz Lindsey and AT&T Chief Marketing & Growth Officer Kellyn Smith Kenny.
“We need that feedback loop about how we can be better to support you all so that we can continue to increase the investment that’s coming into the league because the expectations are rising quickly on all of us,” Berman told the assembled brand and media executives. “We want to be here for that and we want to work on that with you. Anything you all can do to continue to amplify the league and promote the league, small things or big things matter.”
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