The Ultimate Denver Soccer Litmus Test: Denver Summit to Play at DSGP. Both Summit and Rapids at Mile High.

Commerce City, Colo. — The Denver soccer world officially changed for the better now that Denver Summit FC’s inaugural schedule has been released. What that means for Denver’s original soccer team, the Colorado Rapids, remains to be seen.

The 2026 season will produce a litmus test for the Rapids, something the club has yet to experience: Competition for eyeballs. It was announced last month that Summit will play a pair of games at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park as its temporary Centennial Stadium is still being under construction and will not host games until July. Summit will host their inaugural home game at Empower Field at Mile High on Saturday, March 28. Their next two home games will be at DSGP, April 25 vs. San Diego Wave and May 16 against Orlando Pride.

In particular, there will be even more of a litmus test once the season gets going for both teams. Thirteen of Denver Summit’s 30 games fall on Colorado Rapids match days, while three of those are home games for both teams. Those games are:

Aug 29: Colorado vs. Real Salt Lake at 7:30; Summit vs. Chicago Stars at 6:45.
Sept 19:Colorado vs. Seattle Sounders at 7:30; Summit vs. Seattle Reign at 6:45.
Oct 24: Colorado vs. Minnesota United at 7:30; Summit vs. Racing Louisville at 4:30.

Rapids President Pádraig Smith welcomed Denver’s newest soccer team to their new digs upon the schedule release.

“We’re excited to welcome Denver Summit to DICK’s Sporting Goods Park as they begin their inaugural season. The continued growth of soccer is hugely important to the future of the game in this state, and having an NWSL team here in Colorado is a great step forward. We’re proud to host the club for some of their first games and welcome fans from across the state to Commerce City to support Summit FC at DSGP. We look forward to building a strong, lasting partnership for years to come.”

This Denver Soccer litmus test will be fascinating. What’s more, it’s almost as good as a controlled study of soccer attendance, fan interest, and the economics behind it. Both teams playing a huge game at Mile High, with the Rapids hosting Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on April 18. Both teams playing games at DICK’s. Then both teams playing in separate venues on the same day. So many data points.

The challenge for the Rapids:

While there are only two games at DICK’s, Summit FC will no doubt be pushing to sell out the stadium — something the Rapids have consistently struggled to do since the stadium’s opening in 2007. The team’s purpose-built temporary stadium in Centennial is set to be at a capacity of 12,000 while the permanent Santa Fe Yards stadium will be 14,500. Summit recently announced they’ve sold 40,000+ tickets for “The Kickoff” at Mile High, selling out DSGP should not be an issue for Summit FC. It will be interesting to see how the club prices single game tickets at DICK’s and what the secondary market prices are while the teams are short term roommates.

The challenge for the team permanently in Commerce City? Don’t lose their fanbase. Colorado has struggled to deliver strong attendance unless it’s a Rocky Mountain Cup game, ideal summer night or it’s a truly big game such as the 2021 playoffs. It will be fascinating to see how full DSGP is with Summit’s two games. Will it have the atmosphere of a Rapids home game or the vibe of a USWNT friendly when they’ve come to town?

We know Summit has sold season tickets to their cap of 8,500. There’s a good number of Rapids fans and Rapids season ticket members in there. At what point do Rapids fans think about supporting both clubs equality, one more than the other, or just one?

Summit are riding a high of support and mostly good news. We’ll see how well they play in their first year. Only two NWSL expansion teams have ever made the playoffs in their inaugural season.

For the Rapids, what can they do on and off the field to engage their fanbase and make them stick around? Or make it such that they and Summit aren’t competing rather than helping grow the game together? Matt Wells is an unconventional hire. The Cole Bassett transfer didn’t help moral. We’ll see what they do this season.

Will the clubs interact or complete as roommates and after Summit move out?

Those gamedays, it will be interesting to see how much Summit signage and branding is around the ground. Will it look like Summit is playing at a Rapids home game or will there be branding, advertising boards, flags on light poles for Summit? Rapids’ last home game before Summit play on April 25 is two weeks before. Rapids won’t play at home until the weekend following the 25th. For the May 16 game, Colorado is at home the weekend before and after.

The clubs could use early home games to promote each other, scratch each other’s backs. Does the public address announcer read out an ad for the next Rapids home game at the Summit game? Do the Rapids advertise for the Summit at their home games? Presumably, the Rapids are getting something financially from Summit using their stadium (rent, shared match day revenue, etc.). Financially, it’s in their interest for those Summit games to sellout and be rocking.

Afterwards, the marketing and the public discussion around the three double headers will be interesting. Will fans with season tickets to both teams try to make both games? Do they leave Summit early to catch the whole Rapids game? Or do they stay for Summit and show up for the second half of the Rapids? Do they choose one and sell their other ticket? What are the secondary market prices for both games on those days? We are so curious to see what attendance looks like at those games, both announced attendance and butts in seats.

There are so many telling data points to come, including how much location matters to attendance and ticket revenue.

Thoughts on the games at Mile High:

Again, attendance, the secondary market prices, and the atmospheres will be telling. The get in price for both matches sits just under $100, but that’s with the Rapids selling tickets in the 500s and Summit only using the 300s and below. Summit have announced they’ve sold 40,000, close to the NWSL single game record of 40,091.

The Rapids have opened up over half of the 500s for their match. That’s probably around 60,000 available seats for the 76,125 capacity stadium. They still have almost three months until their game. Let’s see what the crowd is like. Will it be a lot of Messi tourists? How can the Rapids convert people showing up for the event or first timers into fans? And how will Messi’s availability for that game impact the mood and ticket prices? We’ve seen Messi tourists in other markets get mad.

Contrast that with Summit where people are buying tickets to see the team in their first home game. Not just to see Trinity Rodman and the Washington Spirit show up.

Read More: Denver Summit Roster Breakdown

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