Summit FC breaks ground on 13,000-seat stadium at Santa Fe Yards south of downtown Denver
Denver Summit FC broke ground Thursday on its permanent stadium at Santa Fe Yards, ending more than a year of approval and land delays for the National Women’s Soccer League expansion club. The 13,000-seat venue will sit on the former Gates Rubber Co. factory site near Interstate 25 and Santa Fe Drive, just south of downtown Denver.
The team now expects construction to be finished by 2028 and the stadium ready for the 2029 season, which starts in March. Summit ownership had originally agreed when it won the expansion team in 2025 to build a dedicated stadium in time for the 2028 NWSL season, but City Council approvals, the land sale and a state easement pushed back the schedule.
Summit controlling owner Rob Cohen said at the groundbreaking that the project is meant to show how professional women’s sports can attract investment. “This is a demonstration to the world about how to invest in women and how to invest in professional women’s sports, and hopefully it will become the standard that happens from here forward,” Cohen said.
The stadium was first announced with 14,500 seats. The team reduced fixed seating to 12,500 and added standing-room areas to reach a total capacity of 13,000. In a news release, Summit said the change was intended to improve fan experience, atmosphere and accessibility, with more space for open-air gathering areas, closer seating and local food and beverage vendors.
Summit plans to invest between $150 million and $200 million in the stadium. The 14-acre site will also include a sports and entertainment district with a hotel, residences and retail.
The club asked for $70 million in public assistance. In December, the City Council approved the use of $50 million in interest from the Elevate Denver Bond Program, a voter-approved initiative, for land acquisition and on-site infrastructure. During that process, the team warned it could leave Denver after a council committee delayed a key vote several weeks, pointing to the league’s 2028 timeline.
The land deal was originally expected to close by the end of 2025, which would have allowed stadium work to begin in early 2026. A Colorado Department of Transportation easement affecting 80,000 square feet at I-25 and Broadway held up the transaction. The easement was lifted, and Summit acquired the land on March 27.
The property is owned by the Broadway Station Metropolitan District, a quasipublic entity created to access bond funding for the site. The district is leasing the land to Summit.
Denver has also agreed to spend another $20 million on off-site improvements at a later date. Those projects include widening Santa Fe Drive, upgrading Vanderbilt Park and building a pedestrian bridge to the I-25 and Broadway light-rail station.
The city approved a $5.3 million grant agreement with the state in August to pay for design of the bridge. The bridge is expected to cost as much as $23 million and be completed by 2030.
Until the new stadium opens, Summit will play at its temporary 12,000-seat stadium in Centennial. That venue opened in July after its own delays.
