DENVER — It is a historic moment for the Mile High City as Denver Summit FC will take on the Washington Spirit in their first home game at Empower Field. Instead of seeing a sea of orange and blue, evergreen will now flood the stands with over 50,000 tickets sold.
The previous ticket sale record for the National Women's Soccer League was set by Bay FC when 40,091 fans packed Oracle Park. The Summit has already broken records, becoming the fastest club to hit 10,000 season ticket deposits and being the first women's professional sports team in a major national league to call Denver home.
Saturday's home opener is shaping up to be one for the record books, with over 50,000 tickets sold. Summit's general manager, Curt Johnson, said they are pushing for a potential sellout and are eager to play in the home of the Denver Broncos.
"It's fitting to play in Empower [Field] in the Broncos stadium in the kickoff — this huge moment in time for our team, Denver Summit FC, but also just broadly for the community, women's sports, professional sports, NWSL," said Johnson. "It's fitting that we're playing in the crown jewel of stadiums in Colorado."
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Denver is getting into the spirit with local coffee shops and bars rolling out Summit-themed drinks, and even Larimer Square has gone green, flying the Summit FC crest ahead of Saturday's opener.
A crew hung each flag up before the Summit played the Orlando Pride. AC Flag and Banner Vice President Sax Willson explained that a total of 30 flags and two banners will be hung.
"This town is great for sports, and so I think this is going to fit in just fine," said Willson. "The fact they are so new is going to get people excited; they can see it here and take the excitement onto the fields and stands."
Empower Field is also flying Summit FC colors, with a banner outside the stadium pushing fans to get their tickets for Saturday. Johnson said the players are ready, training daily in the altitude and thriving in it. He's also got a message for those packing the stands.
"Just bring your enthusiasm, bring your spirit, bring your passion for the game, passion for Denver, passion for Colorado," said Johnson. "We want to hear it loud and proud, and that's what we want. We want people to bring themselves, be themselves, and to celebrate with us."
Looking back at opening day games, the Colorado Rockies played at Mile High Stadium in 1993, where the stadium's east grandstand floated on a thin sheet of water. When the Rockies took the field for the first time in 1993, Denver showed up by setting a single-game attendance record of 80,227 fans at Mile High Stadium.
Dan Fellman was in the stands with his father that day. He smiled, recalling being able to witness this historic sports moment and skip school for the day.
"Education comes first and foremost in my family, and how we grew up," said Fellman. "My mom was a teacher and later served on the Jefferson County school board. Sports has always been something that our whole family has been really passionate about, and so that first Rockies game at Mile High Stadium, I'm pretty sure that was the only time my parents ever allowed me to take a day off of school to play hooky to go watch a game."
Being a lifelong Colorado sports fan who also works in the sports industry, Fellman is eager to pass that passion on to his two daughters. He believes Summit FC's arrival in Denver could be the spark to do it.
"They've enjoyed watching sports with me, but I don't feel like they've ever truly had that same kind of connection that I've had and so now, to give them some women role models is going to be special for them and it’s going to be great to take them to games and get them familiar with the players and kind of build that relationship," said Fellman. "Hopefully, we can continue to grow and love to get a WNBA team here too someday."
Mark Kiszla hasn't forgotten that day either. Covering Denver sports since 1983, the sports columnist reflected on Summit FC's arrival and how special Colorado fans are.
"There is no city in the United States — now, Chicago might get upset and New York might get upset — but there is no sports city in the United States that can match Denver, Colorado, for enthusiasm," Kiszla said.
The clock is ticking toward kickoff, and Summit FC is already seeing what Denver does best: A city filled with fans ready to pack the stands, bring the noise, and rally behind their teams with unmatched passion.
"I think that both with the Rockies' first game and the Summit's first game, you had only one venue big enough for the enthusiasm for the event," said Kiszla. "So the fact that they're going to set a record crowd here (Empower Field), makes this the perfect venue to celebrate women's professional soccer coming to Colorado."