DENVER – The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is back in Colorado for the second time in nine years.
It’s not an entirely surprising choice, given the clout of the region’s sports market and the Denver area’s recent track record of hosting marquee soccer games – think the famous ‘Snow Game’ in 2013, or more recently the International Champions Cup and a Mexico team friendly.
But with new franchises and soccer-specific stadiums coming into the league at a considerable rate, what prompted a return to the city that hosted the 2007 matchup with Celtic FC when markets such as Seattle and Vancouver, or San Jose with its brand-new stadium, have yet to host the summer showpiece?
The simple answer, said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, is that the Colorado Rapids and ownership group Kroenke Sports and Entertainment put together the strongest bid.
“KSE, the Rapids worked with Visit Denver and they put together a great bid,” said Garber at a press conference announcing the event. “Most importantly we want to know that we have the support of our club and the community in ways that will ensure that not just the game, but so many events that will take place here downtown and out in Commerce City will make this not just a game, but a broad event.”
It’s no secret, though, that the Denver sports market is one of the largest and most saturated in the country, and Garber noted that the growth of the game in a market where the Rapids compete for attention with the other four major professional sports leagues is an important mission.
“This is a big sports town and an important market as we’re trying to grow the game in our country, to give the Rapids the support they need, to say a thank you to their burgeoning supporters movement, and put another great event into Dick’s Sporting Goods Park,” Garber added. “It was a pretty easy decision once the bid was right.”
The Rapids’ home stadium will the first venue to repeat as the All-Star host since 2005, when the event came back to Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio after the league’s first soccer-specific stadium hosted the 2000 All-Star Game. The now-demolished Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (1997, 1998) and D.C. United’s RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (2002, 2004) are the only other stadiums to host more than one MLS All-Star Game.
LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF THE MLS ALL-STAR GAME
Outside of the venue itself, the community and growing fan base in the Denver area also clearly caught the eye, and will be a focal point as the cities of both Denver and Commerce City prepare to host not just the game, but the week of events leading up to it.
“A good way to think about it is the incredible viewing parties that happened during the World Cup and the Rapids getting behind bringing the soccer community together to celebrate our game,” Garber noted. “We see that happening here in and around the All-Star Game.”
Said Visit Denver CEO Richard Scharf, who noted that the event could bring in $15-20 million in revenue for the metropolitan area: “We have a community that rallies around these type of events, these type of events are kind of our blood. We know how to do this, we know how to do it well, and I am so looking forward to being the host with Commerce City. This is a great opportunity once again for Denver and Colorado to be on the world stage.”
