Latest news with #CurtJohnson
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Expansion NWSL team introduces name and brand, the Denver Summit
The expansion National Women's Soccer League team in Colorado set to start play next season will be called the Denver Summit. The team announced its new name, colors and crest on Tuesday. A celebration for fans is set for Saturday at Denver's McGregor Square. The Summit name was the result of a fan survey that generated more than 50,000 responses, the team said. The team's crest, meant to to reflect the Colorado landscape, is a dark green image of mountains set in front of an reddish-orange and gold sunset. 'I think the process for the brand was very much rooted in just the ethos of this club, which is community first,' team president Jen Millet said. 'I think there's a real acknowledgement from this ownership group that community is at the center of what we're building and doing and how we will be successful.' The one hiccup in the process was that there was an Ultimate Frisbee team which already claimed the name Colorado Summit, but the Ultimate Frisbee Association agreed to rename the team. The Denver Summit and the Boston Legacy join the NWSL next season, bringing the league to 16 teams. Denver was awarded a franchise last December. The team will play in a temporary home for two seasons before moving to a new 14,500-seat purpose-built stadium in 2028. The club has also broken ground on a training center in Centennial. Millet said the team is accelerating as it moves to its launch. In May, Denver named former North Carolina Courage executive Curt Johnson its general manager, overseeing all of the soccer operations for the new club. Millet was named team president in April. In addition to assembling an inaugural roster, the team will soon be selling tickets. 'The other big pieces for us are just continuing to engage with the community. There's so much excitement around this brand, there's excitement about our stadium project,' Millet said. 'But we want to make sure we hear from everybody around feedback and gathering information and making sure that everyone in the market feels good about the club and what we're doing.' ___ AP soccer:
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
NWSL's 16th expansion club in Denver unveils team name, crest and branding
It's been 173 days since the NWSL awarded its 16th expansion club to Denver. Now that team has its name: Denver Summit FC. The club's ownership group, led by controlling owner Rob Cohen, on Tuesday unveiled the side's name, crest and colors, revealing the team's brand identity with just eight months to go before its inaugural season kicks off in 2026. Advertisement The team's name was selected by a fan vote, which yielded more than 15,000 responses over the last five months, and their crest represents the picturesque landscapes of Colorado, anchored by a mountain with the backdrop of a sunset sky. 'The big thing for us in this project is keeping people at the center of it, keeping fans at the center of it, and wanting to celebrate these milestones with them,' club president Jen Millet told The Athletic last week. They hope to 'take those moments to recognize (while) we've got a long way to go, we have some accomplishments under our belt so far, and it gives us this confidence to keep going.' The brand unveil will likely be the first of several major announcements out of Denver in coming months as Summit FC inches closer to its first game with a to-do list that's not getting any shorter. The team hired Curt Johnson as its first general manager in May, the club's second front-office hire after Millet, but has yet to announce an inaugural head coach or any player signings, even with free agency ongoing. When asked about those decisions, Millet said the club will have plenty to announce in coming weeks. 'The one missing piece, you could say, to our brand or how we're going to show up, is players,' Millet told The Athletic, acknowledging the team wanted to unveil their brand before announcing any players. 'They will be coming soon, and probably fast and furious.' The club's origins trace back to 2023, when the grassroots movement 'For Denver FC' formed with the singular goal of bringing a professional women's soccer team to the city. Fast-forward to January of this year, when the NWSL awarded its 16th expansion team to an ownership group in the city that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the very founders of that movement. 'The ownership group was very aware of the crowdsourcing it took, really, to get the club to Denver,' Millet said. 'In recognition of that, there's a very intentional mindset from ownership, and now from us at the club, to make sure fans have a voice in things that we're doing.' Advertisement In February, the team launched its 'name the club' campaign, with a sampling of names to start, eventually zeroing in on Denver Summit FC. Fans were invited to share their ideas and vote, with more than 15,000 responses received. 'Denver Summit was at the top of the list for them, which was great because it was also at the top of the list for the ownership group,' Millet said. 'It just shows this clear connection that this ownership group has with the Denver market, and just Colorado at large.' The club's crest was created by renowned soccer designer Matthew Wolff, who has had a hand in the identities of several professional soccer clubs around the country. The crest features a traditional shield shape encompassing imagery of the Rocky Mountains, a fitting reference to the landscapes that anchor the brand and city. The mountains in the crest feature peaks that are angled at 26 degrees, a nod to the team's inaugural season next year. 'Coloradans are passionate about the outdoors, so it was always our vision that the crest should depict our natural surroundings,' Cohen said in a statement. 'Our elevation offers us a distinct home-field advantage, and our goal is to build a club that is always pursuing excellence on and off the field.' While the team's green-and-white color scheme has been teased since January, the crest also includes the backdrop of a red sky and a golden sun. The sun represents the state's '300 days of sunshine,' with the red sky representing Colorado's 'dramatic sunsets.' The green and white reflect 'the iconic colors' found on Colorado's traditional license plate. The latter, Millet said, was a running suggestion by respondents during fan voting. While it seems obvious for a club to lean on its fan base for inspiration, this was a valuable lesson fellow expansion side Boston Legacy learned the hard way last year. Boston's initial brand launch was met with swift backlash, forcing the club to redo its vision entirely. Its second unveiling was better received. That's not to say Denver's brand unveiling will be without its own potential hiccups. While the club marks the first professional women's soccer team in Denver, it's far from the first team in Colorado to use the word 'summit' in its team name. There are at least two other teams with similar or nearly identical names. The NWSL club said it collaborated with Colorado Summit, an ultimate frisbee franchise in Denver, throughout the naming process. The frisbee team will rebrand ahead of its 2026 season and is asking fans for suggestions. Advertisement There's also another Denver Summit FC, an LGBTQ+ flag football club founded in 2007. When asked about any confusion between these two teams, the NWSL club said it had been in touch with the flag football team as part of its outreach, too. The teams expect to 'coexist,' with there even being potential for crossover between them. (Photo courtesy of Denver Summit FC)
Associated Press
22-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Expansion NWSL team introduces name and brand, the Denver Summit
The expansion National Women's Soccer League team in Colorado set to start play next season will be called the Denver Summit. The team announced its new name, colors and crest on Tuesday. A celebration for fans is set for Saturday at Denver's McGregor Square. The Summit name was the result of a fan survey that generated more than 50,000 responses, the team said. The team's crest, meant to to reflect the Colorado landscape, is a dark green image of mountains set in front of an reddish-orange and gold sunset. 'I think the process for the brand was very much rooted in just the ethos of this club, which is community first,' team president Jen Millet said. 'I think there's a real acknowledgement from this ownership group that community is at the center of what we're building and doing and how we will be successful.' The one hiccup in the process was that there was an Ultimate Frisbee team which already claimed the name Colorado Summit, but the Ultimate Frisbee Association agreed to rename the team. The Denver Summit and the Boston Legacy join the NWSL next season, bringing the league to 16 teams. Denver was awarded a franchise last December. The team will play in a temporary home for two seasons before moving to a new 14,500-seat purpose-built stadium in 2028. The club has also broken ground on a training center in Centennial. Millet said the team is accelerating as it moves to its launch. In May, Denver named former North Carolina Courage executive Curt Johnson its general manager, overseeing all of the soccer operations for the new club. Millet was named team president in April. In addition to assembling an inaugural roster, the team will soon be selling tickets. 'The other big pieces for us are just continuing to engage with the community. There's so much excitement around this brand, there's excitement about our stadium project,' Millet said. 'But we want to make sure we hear from everybody around feedback and gathering information and making sure that everyone in the market feels good about the club and what we're doing.' ___ AP soccer:
Fox Sports
29-05-2025
- Business
- Fox Sports
Curt Johnson named general manager of Denver's NWSL team
Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Former North Carolina Courage executive Curt Johnson was named Thursday as the general manager of the National Women's Soccer League expansion team in Denver. Johnson stepped down as chief soccer officer and general manager of the Courage in December. He will oversee all of the soccer operations for the new Denver club, which will kick off next year. 'He brings championship-level experience, a collaborative spirit, and a clear passion for growing the game," Denver controlling owner Rob Cohen said in a statement on Thursday. "He's been a part of building some of the most successful organizations in our sport, and we're thrilled to have him shaping the future of our club.' As chief soccer officer for the Courage from 2017-24, Johnson oversaw a club that won two NWSL championships and three NWSL Shields. He previously worked with North Carolina FC and with Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. Johnson has a tight timeline. Denver was named the NWSL's 16th team in December and will kickoff next spring. The team will play in a temporary home for two seasons before moving to a new 14,500-seat purpose-built stadium in 2028. ___ AP soccer:
Washington Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Curt Johnson named general manager of Denver's NWSL team
DENVER — Former North Carolina Courage executive Curt Johnson was named Thursday as the general manager of the National Women's Soccer League expansion team in Denver. Johnson stepped down as chief soccer officer and general manager of the Courage in December. He will oversee all of the soccer operations for the new Denver club, which will kick off next year.
