Denver Eyes New Stadium In Bid For Pro Women's Soccer Team
Denver may be the next city to land a team in the National Women’s Soccer League — and that could mean a new stadium in the Mile High City.
The NWSL, which has 14 teams, is said to be considering Nashville, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Philadelphia in addition to Denver for its 16th franchise, according to the Sports Business Journal. League leaders are performing site visits at the contending cities in October as they approach a decision, the SBJ reported. A team in Boston has been approved but isn't yet playing.
The Denver group lobbying league officials for the new team, For Denver FC, is performing “market development and feasibility activities” surrounding sites for a stadium and training facilities, it said in a 2023 press release.
“This is an idea whose time has come,” Ben Hubbard, a group organizer and CEO of Denver-based impact underwriting firm Parsyl, said at the time. “This is about soccer, but so much more. We’re excited to engage fans, families, civic leaders and investors in laying the foundation for a community asset that will be a powerful force for good in Denver and beyond.”
The rise of women's sports leagues across the U.S. is spawning new businesses and inspiring investors' confidence to bankroll glitzy stadiums and training facilities for teams across the country, Bisnow reported in May.
The $117M stadium built for the NWSL's Kansas City Current is one example of the growing economic impact a new women's sports team can have on a city. Just one month after the stadium opened in March, the team, along with the Kansas City port authority, announced plans for “the next phase of its transformational development on the Missouri Riverfront in downtown Kansas City.”
The project includes a mixed-use district anchored by the new stadium, with more than $200M in private investment and as much as $310M in direct economic impact.
One site For Denver FC is considering is the National Western Center, according to an SBJ source who said the two groups have “had conversations.”
The National Western Center — a partnership involving the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center, Colorado State University and the Western Stock Show Association — is expanding to a 250-acre indoor-outdoor entertainment complex, with construction expected to complete this year. The NWC revealed a predevelopment agreement in June with Fengate Asset Management, Hensel Phelps Construction, Perkins & Will and other partners to build a hotel, equestrian center and parking garage.
A Denver mayor’s office spokesperson told the SBJ that while the city is excited at the idea of attracting the state’s first professional women’s sports team, it has made no determination about where the hypothetical team would play.
The total cost of expanding the franchise to a new market would be in the $100M range — about double the cost of the two most recent markets to join the league, Boston and San Francisco.
The chosen market is expected to be announced before the end of the year, joining Boston’s NWSL team, BOS Nation FC, for a premiere in the 2026 season, according to the SBJ.
