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Denver Summit Broke Ground at Santa Fe Yards. A Field of Her Own Is Coming.
Description
Denver Summit FC broke ground on its permanent stadium at Santa Fe Yards, and this NWSL milestone is one I’ll be thinking about for a long time. On Thursday, October 1st, I stood on the old Gates Rubber site off I-25 and Broadway with my microphone, and this episode is me mostly getting out of the way so you can hear the day from the people who made it happen.
You’ll hear club president Jen Millet’s speech about women’s sports finally leaving borrowed venues behind, which is the line that gave me chills. You’ll also hear Mayor Mike Johnston calling it “a field of her own,” and controlling owner Rob Cohen on why this stadium is meant to set the standard for investing in women’s professional sports. Then the shovels go in the ground with our captains, Kaleigh Kurtz, Janine Sonis and Lindsey Heaps.
I also spoke with Elizabeth Erfling, the Mortenson project executive running the build. She’s a Colorado kid like me who remembers when this site was an empty lot. We talk about who’s actually building this stadium, including Gratacon, a woman-owned general contractor out of Lakewood. You’ll get the facts that didn’t make it into the speeches too: 12,500 fixed seats, about 13,000 total with safe standing, a target completion at the end of 2028, and only the second stadium in the country built for a women’s pro soccer team.
Plus, Janine and Eva Gaetino talk about what it means to finally have a home of their own, Lindsey explains what this would have meant to her as a little girl in Golden, and Jen explains why all of this is part of the pitch to players around the league.
Angel City comes to Centennial on October 17th and Racing Louisville on October 24th, our last two home games of the season. Come be loud.
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jiBAbW0QXepwdqK0qhaaF
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-5280-pitch-denver-summit-fc-podcast/id1859060272
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