Updated Tuesday at 10:52 a.m.
Denver Summit FC, the city’s new women’s professional soccer team, has signed a community benefits agreement, a legally binding document with several neighborhoods that surrounds the team's planned new stadium.
The agreement has been long awaited by local residents and Denver City Council members, who wanted to ensure the team would be a good neighbor in south Denver. The stadium site is near Interstate 25 and Broadway.
“The club’s ownership has worked with us for many hundreds of hours this year to accomplish that, and we're extremely happy to see the many improvements the stadium plans have accumulated as a result,” said Baker resident Connor Shea, who co-chaired West East Neighborhoods United, the group that negotiated the CBA.
The signing of the CBA was touted as the final missing piece by council members, who will vote on whether to release $50 million in taxpayer dollars to purchase and improve the land for Denver Summit FC’s future stadium next week.
Here are a few highlights from the CBA:
A major part of the agreement is the creation of a community investment fund, which will take money from the team and direct it toward local needs, like scholarships, equipment donations, help with housing stability and more.
The initial investment in the fund from the team will be $400,000. Annually, the team will contribute $300,000.
Summit FC’s community investment fund follows in the footsteps of the Globeville, Elyria, Swansea Community Investment Fund, which formed in 2022 as the National Western Center agreed to collect a portion of sales on the campus for community development. If the Summit’s CIF follows a similar model, it will be independently run by community members who choose how to redistribute funds given to them by the team.
The team also said the stadium will function as a community space for the surrounding neighborhood and youth. It committed to offering community pop-up soccer clinics, scholarships and free use of facilities for community organizations.
It also committed to at least 25 percent of the stadium’s food and beverage vendors being locally owned or minority-owned businesses.
A fund of $400,000 will also be used to create public art from “local, minority, and women artists” to reflect “diverse cultural histories of neighborhoods surrounding the site.”
Pending Regional Transportation District approval, matchday tickets will also come with discounted transit passes.
The team negotiated with a group composed of several neighborhoods, including Athmar Park, West Wash Park, Baker and Ruby Hill.
What’s next for the team?
Summit FC will play its first competitive games in the spring, albeit from a temporary home stadium in Centennial.
The team said it plans to open its permanent stadium in Baker in 2028.
Denver City Council could take the next big step on Monday, Dec. 22, by releasing $50 million in funds to purchase and improve the land for the stadium next week. The council will also consider a rezoning for the site.
After that, the council still needs to vote on an additional $20 million in improvements around the stadium, including parks, trails and roads.
Editor's note: This story was updated on Tuesday to clarify which neighborhoods negotiated with the team.
