Just over a year since a new women’s soccer team was announced for Denver, Denver Summit FC will play its first professional match on Saturday.
The team will kick off its inaugural season with an away game in San Jose, playing Bay FC on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. MT.
Here’s how to watch the Summit’s first game and beyond.
The good news is that most Summit games will be free to watch through streaming and TV services.
But the bad news is there’s no one-size-fits-all way to watch National Women’s Soccer League games. Fans will have to juggle no fewer than six platforms and channels to see all the Summit’s games.
The Summit’s first game will be broadcast on ION, a Scripps-owned channel that is available on a variety of streaming platforms. The channel is free on services like Tubi, Freevee and through the use of television antennas.
Most Summit games this season will air on ION.
Some games will also be streamed on NWSL+ and Victory+, two free streaming services.
Customers will have to pay for either a cable package or several streaming services to access the rest of the games, which will air on Amazon Prime Video, CBS/Paramount+ and ESPN.
There are watch parties, too!
If you want to watch with other fans, the team and other local businesses will host watch parties across Denver.
The official party will be at Stoney’s Bar & Grill on Lincoln Street. Team representatives will hand out swag starting at 2:30 p.m.
The 14ers, the team’s official supporters group, will host its own watch party at Number Thirty Eight in Five Points.
Unofficial events include a screening on McGregor Square’s 66-foot LED screen and a party at the 99ers Sports Bar, a women’s athletics bar.
Home games in three cities:
Debut seasons are often chaotic — but the Summit will have to deal with an extra nuisance. Due to delays in building the team’s temporary stadium in Centennial, the Summit’s first season will see them play in three different home stadiums.
The team will play its first-ever home match at — Empower Field at Mile High on March 28, followed by later home games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City and, eventually, the new temporary stadium in Centennial.
The team says it has sold 45,000 or whatever tickets to the March 28 home debut. Tickets are available starting at $25 for upper-deck seats.
The team won’t play in its permanent home, a planned new stadium in Denver’s Baker neighborhood, until 2028.
Summit fans will be hopeful that the team can build on an impressive preseason showing, with the team winning both of its friendly matches during the Coachella Valley Invitational. And the team will only get stronger — fans can look forward to the pending arrival of U.S. Women’s National Team captain and Colorado local Lindsey Heaps, who will join the team in the summer.
