2026 Denver Summit Schedule and Reaction

Denver, Colo. – The 2026 NWSL regular season schedule is out. The season will begin on Friday, March 13, with all 16 clubs in action across the opening weekend. Each club will play 30 games. Denver is the 16th expansion team in the promising league, alongside fellow 2026 debutant Boston Legacy. Let’s break down the 2026 Denver Summit schedule and the NWSL schedule as a whole.

The NWSL Challenge Cup will feature 2025 NWSL Champion Gotham FC and 2025 NWSL Shield winner Kansas City Current, will be in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally to be played on February 20.

No regular season matches will be staged from June 1 to 28 while the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The league will return to regular season play on July 3 following the conclusion of the tournament’s group stage. Similarly, in 2025 NWSL took a month-long break from league play from July 15 to August 18, while the Paris 2024 Olympics were being held.

In turn, the league organized a tournament, featuring international guests and all NWSL clubs.

Denver’s home games will be played in three metro-Denver stadiums: Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in downtown Denver, DICK’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, and then at the to-be-constructed, temporary 12,000 seat venue, Centennial Stadium. Of their 30 games, 13 of them will be on the same day as a Colorado Rapids match day.

Three of these will see both teams at home, August 29, September 19, and October 24.

Eight of the club’s first 11 games will be on the road, which is a tough start. This will make for better weather for summer home games. This will also limit the number of games they don’t play in their home stadium. Right now, there’s just the opener at Mile High and two matches at DSGP.

Their away season opener is at Bay FC in San Jose on March 14. Here at home, “The Kickoff” match is set to be played at high-noon in Mile High Stadium against Washington Spirit on March 28. According to the club’s announcement, their game will be broadcast live on ION and Denver7 – The Spot Denver 4. 

The club is aiming to break a NWSL attendance record that is currently cited as 40,091. Sources tell Burgundy Wave that Summit have already sold approximately 40,000 tickets for that match.

In December, it was announced that Denver7 and Summit FC forged a broadcast alliance. Via a multi-year agreement, Denver7, led by its sister station- The Spot Denver 3 (KCDO-TV), will air all non-nationally exclusive games throughout the greater Denver market. 

Denver7 and The Spot Denver 3 are part of the E.W. Scripps Company. Scripps Sports has an existing partnership with NWSL through which ION broadcasts Saturday double-headers every week of the season. Scripps also has a respectable commitment to women’s professional sports through broadcast agreements with the WNBA, Major League Volleyball and more.

The club will host their first game at Centennial Stadium on July 3 vs KC Current and former Rapids’ skipper Chris Armas. Lindsey Heaps will have already arrived from Europe and the crowd in Centennial will be electric.

Denver will host several cultural and heritage theme nights during the season to honor diversity in Colorado.

On May 26, the club will celebrate Pride Night. Hispanic Heritage will be appreciated on September 16. On October 17, Denver will recognize the heritage of Indigenous Peoples’ and the first-ever Fan Appreciation bash will take place on October 24. 

Single-elimination playoffs will feature only the top eight teams from the regular season play.

Playoff first rounds will take place November 6-8. The semifinals will be played November 13-15, and the Championship match will be played on November 21.

The reigning champions New York’s Gotham FC defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California in November 2025.

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