CENTENNIAL — When Centennial purchased an undeveloped 43-acre property at the intersection of South Potomac Street and East Fremont Avenue in 2011, the city’s vision was to transform the parcel into a community asset.
In the 14 years since, that goal hit numerous speed bumps, including a 2014 master plan that would’ve created 18 multi-purpose fields but fell through due to a lack of funding.
“It was a strategic move for the city to buy this property in this location in Dove Valley, near the Broncos training facility, because even back then we knew there was potential there that we hadn’t imagined yet,” Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko said. “We worked tirelessly as a city trying to find the appropriate partner — a partner that was ready to actually bring forward the vision we had.”
That vision moved a step closer to reality on Thursday at Cherry Creek Innovation Campus with the announcement that Denver’s National Women’s Soccer League team is partnering with Cherry Creek School District to build a stadium, training center and auxiliary fields on the property.
The modular stadium, which will seat about 12,000 before eventually being scaled down to 4,000, will serve as the Denver NWSL club’s home over the next two years while a planned permanent stadium at Santa Fe Yards is being built. After the team leaves for Denver, the stadium will be used full-time by CCSD. The club and the district are splitting the cost of the stadium, which is projected to be $20 million to $25 million.
Denver NWSL’s 20,000 square-foot training facility will include two grass fields, a turf field, a goalkeeper training area and a sports performance center. Adjacent to the training facility will be the stadium, as well as four additional turf fields that CCSD and the community can use.
“Our ownership group is committed to building something bigger than just a soccer team,” Denver NWSL controlling owner and governor Rob Cohen said. “We’re interested in creating a legacy for the next generation and for all of Colorado.
“This is the manifestation of our belief that women athletes deserve the same investment, same innovation and same excellence as any other group of athletes.”
Cohen said the club’s academy/development programs, which will feature players from Colorado and elsewhere, will also train and play at the site. He noted that in a league where there is no draft or expansion draft, he believes the training facility will give the club an edge in signing top free-agent talent.
“This is a statement being made by this ownership group that Denver NWSL is going to lead,” NWSL executive vice president Bill Ordower added. “… And you can come in from Day 1 and compete for a championship, if you put the right bones in place and the right structure.”
For CCSD, the partnership with the club made sense because the district had been exploring options for additional fields and another stadium for several years. Currently, the district has two stadiums: Stutler Bowl at Cherry Creek High School and Legacy Stadium at Grandview High School.
District CFO/COO Scott Smith estimates the district’s overall investment in the project will be in the range of $15 million to $20 million. The district’s half of the stadium funding isn’t due until after Denver NWSL leaves for its permanent stadium, and the district will use bond premiums to pay for the cost.
“Bond dollars can only be spent on physical infrastructure, so this is a perfect way to do that to expand our athletic offerings and invest in new fields and athletic facilities,” Smith said. “But it doesn’t come at the expense of any other bond project or anything like teacher pay or class size because you can’t use bond money for those type of things.”
Smith said the district will use the stadium for a variety of sports, but not tackle football.
“This gives us an opportunity to get our young women and other athletes in the stadium under the lights much more frequently than we do now,” Smith said.
The city, the club and the district envision the development of the property will create a go-to community destination for youth and high school teams. The training center, stadium and auxiliary fields will comprise 31 acres of the 43-acre property. Piko said the remaining land could be used to add more fields, parking or possibly retail.
“It’s going to be an attraction area that brings people in,” Piko said. “I’m glad we hung onto this property long enough to get this type of deal done.”
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