Denver Summit, the latest US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team, has broken the league’s attendance record during its home opener against the Washington Spirit.
The franchise’s first home match, a scoreless draw, saw 63,004 fans attend Mile High Stadium, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos, on Saturday (March 28), smashing the previous NWSL record of 40,091 set last year by Bay FC at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
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The Summit are four games into their inaugural season and currently sit eighth in the league with five points, having picked up a loss, two draws, and a win.
NWSL’s 16th franchise was awarded to Denver back in January 2025 for a reported expansion fee of $110 million and started play this season alongside fellow debutants Boston Legacy FC.
The team is owned by an investment consortium headed by Colorado-based businessman Rob Cohen, chair and chief executive of the IMA Financial Group insurance broker, as well as the women’s sports investment fund Project Level, a subsidiary of Ariel Investment.
Since then, the franchise has been working to boost its commercial partnerships ahead of its debut, securing its first founding partner in the form of non-profit healthcare provider CommonSpirit Health, before landing premium experiences and commercial agency Legends Global to manage its commercial operations.
Through the deal, Legends will work to secure commercial partnerships for the Summit, including naming rights deals for the team’s upcoming permanent stadium project, as well as the temporary stadium the team will play in until its completion, sponsorship of the team’s performance center, selling shirt sponsorship inventory, and more.
The Summit’s 14,500 stadium is set for completion by 2028.
Before the start of the 2026 season, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman announced the league will award its 18th franchise later this year, with the selected team to begin play in 2028. Most recently, the league announced Atlanta as its 17th franchise in November.
The NWSL's 2026 campaign kicked off on March 13, with the regular season running through November 1, followed by postseason playoffs.
