Denver Summit FC has been chosen as the official name for the nation’s newest professional women’s soccer team. But does Denver — the Queen City of the Plains — even have a summit?

The team decided to emphasize the city in the official name, choosing it over an earlier version submitted to the public for a vote that instead went by “Colorado Summit.”

It was among five other candidates including Denver FC, Denver Peak, Denver Gold, Denver Elevate and Colorado 14ers, with the team saying Summit was the “overwhelming favorite” to represent the new NWSL franchise.

While the team’s name has received positive praise, some social media commenters have pointed out Denver is technically still considered Plains country and doesn’t have mountains like the rest of the state.

“The only summit in Denver is Ruby Hill,” one commenter left on the team’s Instagram post.

Denver Summit FC will be the name for new NWSL soccer team

Technically, the highest point within the city limits is located near Belleview Avenue and Kipling Street at approximately 5,680 feet above sea level, a Denver Parks & Recreation spokesperson said.

Outside of its official boundaries, Denver does boast the highest city park in the nation at 14,020 feet elevation: Summit Lake on Mt. Blue Sky.

Denver operates a mountain park system established in 1912 with more than 14,000 acres of public land including the foothills and the Rocky Mountains. This park system was set up to help the city better compete with Switzerland for mountain tourism, according to Visit Denver.

The city also owns the Winter Park ski resort’s land, with the tallest mountains being Parsenn Bowl and The Cirque with summits at 12,060 feet.

The city’s next tallest mountain parks are Echo Lake Park (11,051 feet), Mount Judge (10,057 feet), Hick Mountain (10,089 feet) and Bergen Peak (9,700 feet).

Highlighting where the stadium will be

When asked about choosing Denver over Colorado, President of Denver Summit Jen Millet said fans favored the city over the state.

Another factor was the team’s plans to build the country’s second stadium, following in the steps of Kansas City, devoted solely to women’s soccer instead of renting from a men’s sports venue.

The team wanted to highlight Denver as the place where a massive investment in women’s sports is taking place, Millet said.

“Hey, this is in Denver, and it’s only the second one in the country … one of a few in the world,” Millet said. “And so we wanted to acknowledge that and make sure we were grounded in that.”

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The team plans to build a stadium on the site of the old Gates Rubber Factory, near Interstate 25 and Broadway, that’s been sitting empty since 2001. The team’s owner Rob Cohen said at a town hall last week that it was important for the team to be as close as possible to the Denver urban core.

Future home of Denver women's soccer stadium was once a booming rubber factory

While Denver Summit plans to fund the new stadium, the City and County of Denver is working to purchase the land for the team to lease.

The city approved an agreement for up to $70 million to buy the land and fund infrastructure around the property, though it still needs to head to City Council for final approval in November.

It’s gotten some pushback from councilmembers concerned about the timing of the stadium coming as the city is dealing with a $250 million budget deficit and an uncertain economy.

“For $70 million, Denver needs to be in the name of the team,” Councilmember Amanda Sawyer said in an April committee meeting with franchise owners.

But when asked if the team felt any pressure from city leaders to put Denver in the team name, Millet denied it influenced their decision. 

Other teams share the name

Colorado Summit is also the name of Denver’s professional ultimate frisbee franchise.

When the soccer team was getting closer to choosing Summit as its name, Millet said they reached out to the frisbee team to work something out.

The frisbee team relinquished the “Summit” name and announced Tuesday it will rebrand to support the new women’s team. It set up a website asking fans to submit ideas for a naming contest.

Colorado Summit’s co-owner Sal Pace said giving the name to the women’s team was “more than a handoff, but about growing the state’s sports community to be more inclusive. 

Denver Summit’s president wouldn’t disclose the terms of the agreement with the frisbee team to secure the name. But leaders on both teams said the naming is good fore everyone. 

“It was a conversation between two Denver sports teams,” Pace said in a separate emailed statement. “We are excited to welcome women’s professional soccer to Denver and we believe this will be a mutually beneficial relationship for both clubs.”