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Denver Summit FC is competing in its first-ever NWSL season after being welcomed as an expansion franchise. The new club hosted its opening home match on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High, and supporters turned out in overwhelming numbers.
The Summit shattered the NWSL attendance record on Saturday as 63,004 fans packed the stadium. The previous record had been set just last year by Bay FC when 40,091 supporters attended a match held at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. This means Denver surpassed the record by nearly 23,000 fans—a remarkable achievement by any measure.
This record established by the Summit may stand longer than Bay FC's did, but it marks the fourth straight NWSL season in which the attendance record has been broken. A truly extraordinary milestone for the new franchise.
SIXTY. THREE. THOUSAND. 🤯
History has been made & it's all because of you, Denver! pic.twitter.com/MSIKT8ot36
The Summit's majority owner Rob Cohen was thrilled with the fan turnout on Saturday.
"The ownership group had high expectations for this community, but this community has exceeded every expectation that we had in terms of turnout and ticket sales for the game," Cohen said ahead of the match, via ESPN. "And it just proves that our city is deserving of this club and this is something that the community has wanted for a long time."
Witnessing tens of thousands of supporters in the stands created an emotional moment for Summit players. Following the match, Denver winger Janine Sonis described the feelings she experienced while taking the field at kickoff. Sonis grew up in the Denver area, making it something of a homecoming game for her.
"I had tears in my eyes," Sonis said, via ESPN. "I truly didn't believe that this was something that was going to happen in my career. I'm just so grateful to be here. ... It was a tough balance to manage the emotions and put in a performance. I will never forget walking out of that tunnel today and hearing the crowd screaming for us."
Unfortunately for the 63,004 fans in attendance, neither the Summit nor the Washington Spirit found the back of the net in Saturday's contest. The massive crowd was therefore denied the chance to erupt in celebration over a goal, which is arguably the most exciting part of attending an NWSL match. Each team typically has its own goal-scoring celebration tradition—Summit fans will have to wait until the next opportunity to create theirs.
The Summit won't always call Empower Field home. The franchise will relocate to a temporary venue in Denver while awaiting the completion of their permanent stadium, expected by 2028. Currently, the only stadium in the U.S. built exclusively for an NWSL team is CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current.
The 2026 NWSL season is off to a record-breaking start in terms of attendance. The season's opening weekend on March 14 and 15 set an overall attendance record as 129,202 fans attended eight matches, while also establishing a new average of 16,150 fans per game. Boston FC Legacy (the other expansion team this season) drew 30,207 fans, setting the record for the largest crowd at a team's debut match. The Summit clearly eclipsed that mark on Saturday.
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Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master's in sports media at Northwestern University.