Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids, Broncos. The list of men’s sports teams goes on and on. For years men’s sports have dominated the media and the world. Now, women’s sports has a chance to expand as interest grows. 

Colorado hasn’t had a women’s sports team ever. The demand that Colorado gains the teams it deserves is finally be granted. Starting with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion coming in 2026, Colorado will have its first professional women’s team, making it the 16th franchise in the league. Colorado has produced three national team players. Lindsey Heaps, Sophia Wilson, and Mallory Swanson.

Lindsey Heaps (formerly known as Lindsey Horan) plays for Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, who plays in the Women’s Champions League. She made her debut for the national team in 2013 and has been on the team every year since. Before she became a professional player, Heaps played for Colorado Rush, a youth soccer team. The club cultivated Heaps into the player she is today- teaching her one of her core values, passion.

Sophia Wilson (formerly known as Sophia Smith) and Mallory Swanson were raised in Colorado before their professional careers began. Both women played for Real Colorado for youth soccer. Swanson made her national team debut in 2016 followed by Wilson in 2020.

All three players are still active on the team and have made an impact on women’s soccer. It’s about time that a team was brought to the state that cultivated them into the players they are today. 

There is also an additional expansion of women’s sports in rugby. The sport gained popularity during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics leading to a new desire for a women’s rugby league. Women’s Elite Rugby league plans to launch later this year with its inaugural season. Denver is set to be one of six places to host a team. The Denver Onyx will be the first professional women’s team in the state, beginning its season later this month.

With both women’s rugby and soccer teams on the horizon for Denver, more demand for women’s sports continues. On January 12th, two Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) teams, the Minnesota Frost and Montreal Victoire, faced off in Denver as part of the PWHL’s Takeover Tour. The game set a record 14,000 people in Ball Arena, an arena that seats 18,000. By the end of the game, fans were chanting in a chorus of joined voices, “We want a team.”

With plans for the PWHL to expand in the near future and the record-breaking attendance being set in Denver, it would make sense to continue the growth of women’s sports in Colorado by bringing in a hockey team in addition to the soccer and rugby teams already being set in action.