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The NWSL's 16th franchise officially has a name: Denver Summit FC. The expansion team announced its identity Tuesday, following months of fan engagement and a public vote on six naming options.
The name “Summit” emerged as the top choice among fans and the team’s ownership group.
“I think the at-large view, and really a through line for this club that continues with the naming, is that this has been a crowdsourced name,” team president Jen Millet said, as reported by Jess Kassouf of ESPN. She noted that after months of referring to the club informally as “Denver NWSL,” the new name brings renewed excitement to the project.
Denver is scheduled to begin play in 2026. The team’s branding draws heavily from Colorado’s mountain landscape, with the team crest featuring green peaks sloped at a 26-degree angle to signify its inaugural season. The image also includes white snowcaps, a red sky and an orange sun.
The name beat out five other finalists: Denver Peak FC, Colorado 14ers FC, Denver Elevate FC, Denver FC and Denver Gold FC. While fans voted on “Colorado Summit FC,” the organization ultimately opted for “Denver” to reflect its commitment to building a 14,500-seat stadium in the city by 2028. Millet emphasized that the decision honors Denver as the club’s home and its investment in a purpose-built venue.
“The ‘Denver' piece, for us, being the second team in the NWSL with a purpose-driven stadium – we really wanted to honor Denver as a part of that and make sure that people knew that that's happening in Denver,” Millet said. “It's a city stadium. And so that felt really good to us.”
In contrast to Boston Legacy FC, another 2026 expansion team that initially launched with the unpopular name, BOS Nation FC, Denver Summit FC prioritized community input throughout the branding process. Millet said the approach reflects the team’s view of itself as a “community asset.”
“I really believe the intention of this ownership group was, they look at this club as a community asset,” Millet said. “And not just in name; they really want to be true to this movement that brought the club here. So, they felt like they wanted to get it right, and in order to get it right, they needed those voices in the room. I think that is really what the driver was, not really a best practice that they could take from somewhere else.”
The club retained its deep green color scheme after strong fan feedback. The green-and-white palette nods to Colorado’s iconic license plate, while the red in the crest references the state’s famous rock formations.
“Ultimately, the win for me is going to be that the fans … are really happy to wear it,” Millet said.
