COMMERCE CITY — Nate Shotts learned the hard way there was one word FIFA officials knew in any language: No.
“In my mind, they already had a preconceived document they wanted you to sign if you were willing to do it and willing to be considered,” Shotts, CEO of the Colorado Soccer Association, told me recently. “There was a time where I thought there was more that we could’ve done. But when FIFA gives you that paper, it blows everything out the door.”
The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team was in town to take on Australia in a friendly Tuesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park — a match the Americans won 2-1. Sadly, that will likely be the last time Denverites see the Stars & Stripes up close for a while.
The 2026 World Cup is coming to 11 U.S. cities next summer. But Denver, which bid for the event, won’t be one of them.
When Empower Field hosted the CONCACAF Nations League final between the United States and Mexico in 2021, the building stomped and shook like a Saturday at College Station, Texas, or Madison, Wis. Concacaf officials repeatedly praised the atmosphere and the venue. Where did it all go wrong?
“I think at the end of the day, it just became a financial situation,” Denver Summit FC controlling owner Rob Cohen, one of the big swingers on the Denver World Cup bid committee, told me by phone Tuesday. “We were between owners on the Broncos, and obviously, Empower Field was a huge part of the bid. So, not having clarity on where we were and where we weren’t just made the economic hurdle a little bit too much. It was just, unfortunately, timing.”
If it takes a community to host a World Cup, it takes a village, in retrospect, to lose one. The Broncos were at the listless, rudderless end of The Bowlen Trust Years. The Kroenkes, who own the Rapids, were stretched between hosting bids in Colorado and Los Angeles. Denver was the right town at the wrong time.
I reached out to four individuals who were part of that Denver 2026 bid committee. Three got back. The one thing they all independently circled back on, to a man, was money.
Long story short, FIFA kept demanding more and more of it. World soccer’s largest organizing body wanted the city and county to agree in writing, up front, that they would take on whatever future additional costs piled up.
“FIFA’s demands became very outside the lines,” Shotts said. “Essentially, they wanted you to sign an open document that says you’ll do it, but at whatever cost.
“And our folks were smart enough to realize to go and say, ‘Here is what our offer is. Here is what we can put into it. Accept it or don’t accept it.’ And as you know, they didn’t accept it. Because they wanted more.”
Reports said Denver’s bid was budgeted at $45 million and privately funded. Cohen said the committee went to the state to see if they “could try and fill the gap … and it was something they decided they were uncomfortable with at that time.”
‘I think we did a good job’
In July 2019, Gov. Jared Polis and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock stood in front of Empower Field and announced their charge to land the World Cup.
Three years later, that dream was denied.
Confetti cannons stood ready at a watch party for the World Cup announcement in LoDo in June 2022. They were never fired.
FIFA announced 11 host cities in the United States for 2026. Denver didn’t make the cut. Kansas City did. As did Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
Let’s cut to the chase, here. Why is Kansas City getting the World Cup next summer, and we’re not?
“The Hunt family stepped up big-time,” Bob Contiguglia, former president of U.S. Soccer and the Denver’s bid committee co-chairman, told The Post.
Clark Hunt, CEO of the Chiefs, is part of a family whose soccer ties run almost as deep as their football ones. The Lamar Hunt Cup, this country’s equivalent of the FA Cup, is named in his father’s honor.
“Kansas City, which was our main competitor, had (their) ownership in place with the Chiefs, who could step up,” Cohen said. “I think it was more leadership than it (was) our dollars, per se.
“… You need somebody up front who obviously has an economic interest in the game leading the (charge) and getting other people to come to the table. It’s a community lift, at the end of the day. But without that leadership piece in place, and clarity as to what the commitment (was), it just made it a bit rough.”
Which is a shame, as Denver had veteran hands on-side. Contiguglia was one of the pillars behind the women’s World Cups in 1999 and 2003 — two major drivers of the sport’s popularity in the U.S. He’s called the Front Range home since 1972. When I asked if he had any regrets about the 2026 bid, in hindsight, he stood firm.
“Not at all,” Contiguglia said. “And with all the news that’s coming out — there are a lot of stories about the host cities struggling to raise money. And so maybe it was the right thing that we did not get it.”
Remember that agreement about open-ended costs? Kansas City’s Wyandotte County, where Sporting KC plays, is now talking about a new hotel tax, according to a Politico report. Houston and Dallas have had to go back and ask for millions from state funds. Add-on expenses for infrastructure, entertainment and logistics are tacking on up to an additional $150 million for each host city, the report stated.
Contiguglia said the Broncos, even with interim ownership, were amenable to making Empower Field more World Cup-friendly. But their ownership transition didn’t ease any doubts about who would foot the bill for any potential makeovers. The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group finalized its purchase of the team from the Bowlen Family Trust in August 2022 — not long after the 2026 World Cup cities were announced.
“I think,” Contiguglia said, “we did a good job.”
‘It was mostly a timing thing’
Fortunately, Denver gets a second chance to make a first impression. The United States and Mexico are sharing the Women’s World Cup in 2031, and Cohen, Shotts and Contiguglia also expect Denver to bid for one of the hosting slots.
Summit FC will be up and running by then, giving FIFA another example of what a fantastic soccer town Denver really is. Summit’s Santa Fe Yards home is slated to open in 2028. The Broncos’ new stadium at Burnham Yard is targeted to open by 2031.
“The men’s teams in town have been incredibly supportive of the Denver Summit,” Cohen said. “And we’ve got great working relationships across the board. I think that bodes well for the future.”
Next summer, though?
Next summer’s going to be hard.
“Sometimes, you get an offer from somebody to go do something, but it doesn’t align with your calendar,” Cohen said. “Even though it’s something you really want to do, but you can’t make it work. I think that’s the best analogy I can come up with on this. It was mostly a timing thing with us …
“We had a proverbial gun to our head to make our decision and didn’t have the financial support in place in order to (secure) a bid.”
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