Good for the ‘Burbs: Denver NWSL announces temporary stadium and training facility in Centennial

CENTENNIAL — Over the years in American soccer, when clubs have moved its headquarters to the suburbs, it can often be the start of a slow spiral toward irrelevancy. That is the exact opposite approach Denver NWSL announced on Thursday with a new training center in the works.

The newest National Women’s Soccer League club announced a groundbreaking partnership with Cherry Creek School District to build a 12,000-seat temporary stadium with 4,000 permanent seats. It also includes the club headquarters and a training facility on a 43-acre plot of land directly across the street from where the Denver Broncos practice in Dove Valley.

The plot of land, which has been undeveloped since the city bought the land located at South Potomac Street and East Fremont Avenue in 2011, will become the club’s first home stadium and permanent training ground starting next year.

Why the South Suburbs makes sense

For what its worth, sources within the organization had told Burgundy Wave that the initial group at “For Denver FC” had been eyeing this plot of land since 2023, when the grassroots effort launched. One source described the City of Centennial as “very keen” on that plot of land. So much so, that it was the City of Centennial who reached out to the group first for them to consider the south suburbs.

The south suburbs makes sense for its club headquarters. If you know much about soccer in Colorado at all, you know the south suburbs are where the youth scene is alive and thrives. Out of the 15 active Coloradans in the NWSL, 10 are from this area, including USWNT’ers Mallory Swanson and Jaelin Howell. Colorado Rush, Real Colorado and other prominent youth clubs are all based here. It is a no-brainer location and is what comes to mind when you think ‘where does Colorado Soccer live’? It’s the south suburbs.

If you’re out of the loop, last week, Denver NWSL announced plans to build a permanent, stunning 14,000-plus stadium at Santa Fe Yards in Baker, which could be finished by 2028. In the meantime, the club will start building a temporary stadium and training facility.

Features of the site, per the club, include the following:

• The Denver NWSL performance center and temporary stadium will sit on 43 acres in Centennial
• Approximately 20,000 square foot training facility purpose-built for professional women’s sports
• 8 soccer fields including the 12,000-seat temporary stadium field
• A dedicated team room for Denver NWSL featuring player lounges and private changing rooms for all of the athletes
• State-of-the-art recovery facilities including hot and cold plunge, float pod, red-light therapy, and recovery lounge
• A dining area and lounge for the players and family
• A dedicated, quiet family room
• A video analysis theater
• An elite training core for integrated strength and conditioning, sports science, and sports medic

“Denver NWSL is setting a new benchmark for what it means to support professional athletes with the infrastructure they deserve,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement. “From a world-class training environment to a thoughtfully designed temporary stadium, this initiative is an example of how our clubs are leading the way in reimagining what’s possible in women’s sports. We’re especially proud of the collaboration with the City of Centennial and the Cherry Creek School District, which ensures this investment will benefit generations of athletes and students for decades to come.”

The Details of the Training center

According to a Memorandum of Understanding from earlier this month, Denver NWSL and CCSD will split the cost of the design, construction and building of the temporary stadium, which Colorado Public Radio’s Denverite and The Denver Post reported would cost in the range of $20-25 million. The deal was approved at Wednesday night’s school board meeting.

“Our partnership with the City of Centennial and the Cherry Creek School District represents the power of sports to unite communities and create opportunity,” said Denver NWSL controlling owner Rob Cohen in a club statement. “We’re proud to invest in world-class facilities that will support our athletes, engage students, enhance education, and leave a lasting impact on our community and the region. Centennial is the perfect home to begin this exciting chapter for Denver NWSL.”

For those unaware, Cherry Creek School District is one of the state’s largest school districts. It serves roughly 300,000 residents across eight different towns and has 53,000 students, including eight high schools, all of which compete in the largest CHSAA classification system for athletics. The school district is a total powerhouse. This deal is a golazo considering CCSD’s reputation alone within athletic and academic circles.

How much is behind this effort?

Per CCSD publicly available documents, Cherry Creek School District will escrow, or contribute, $15 million from its 2024 voter-approved $950-million bond to build the training fields and share-use fields, which, per the agreement, will last for an initial term of 20 years. Students from the district will be able to use the fields. Once the team moves into Santa Fe Yards, the stadium size will be reduced to a permanent 4,000 seater.

While CCSD will partner with the team for the temporary stadium and fields, Denver NWSL will be responsible for building out the 20,000-foot training facility and club headquarters.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Cherry Creek Schools and the start of a long-term partnership that offers another Pathway of Purpose and life-changing opportunities for students,” said Cherry Creek Superintendent Christopher Smith in a statement. “This project provides substantial short- and long-term benefits for students, families, and the community while maximizing taxpayer investment in the district. With this innovative partnership, Cherry Creek Schools continues to grow our excellence and lead in providing world-class programs and experiences for students.”

Other benefits for the school district will include, per the Memorandum of Understanding:

• Internship opportunities for CCSD students in sports management, health and wellness, facilities and equipment management, and other related roles
• Presentations or instruction from Denver NWSL support staff for CCSD athletes and students, including Cherry Creek Innovation Campus business students
• 500 tickets per season for regular-season games (not to exceed 50 tickets per game). The District will also have an opportunity to purchase 50 tickets per game at a discounted rate, to be agreed upon by all parties.
• Support for CCSD’s Teacher Apprenticeship Program for athletes interested in pursuing a future teaching career
• The partnership includes an upfront donation of $100,000 to the Cherry Creek Schools Foundation and access to Denver NWSL tickets

CAA ICON will support the development, design, and construction of the stadium working with Populous. Populous, which is also behind Santa Fe Yards, will design the performance center and temporary stadium.

Is it time to build a team yet?

The biggest pieces of the puzzle are now checked off the box. A stunning training facility, a game-changing stadium in Baker. Given this organization’s strong start, it’s expected that the next logical steps will be to fill out the strong bones of the club, ranging from a president, GM, sporting director and manager (or however they decide to go about it), to the smaller, crucial roles like finding a communications director or a nutritionist. That will likely go hand-in-hand with building out the first-team roster itself.

2026 is coming up quick. The NWSL is already a few weeks into its season. But there’s still a ton more to go until a ball will be kicked in the Centennial State. Still, this is one heckuva start.