Outside of Empower Field, there might not be a better spot to watch the Summit home opener than The 99ers Sports Bar.
When it opened in 2025, The 99ers became Denver’s first venue dedicated to celebrating women’s athletics. Founders Miranda Spencer and Annie Weaver wanted to create a space where all people can feel safe watching, celebrating, and talking about women’s sports.
“We’re here to push the dial forward and the conversation ahead – ensuring the
athletes who paved the way receive the visibility and recognition they’ve always deserved,” Weaver says.
The bar’s name is an ode to the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final where the U.S. beat China in a dramatic shootout — a win that finally gave players the attention, funding, and leverage to establish the world’s first professional women's soccer league in 2000, where all athletes were paid as professionals.
As Denver welcomes the Summit FC this weekend more than two decades later, things feel full-circle. “Never in our wildest dreams — whether as kids or even as adults — did we think we’d be in a city and get to be part of the inaugural season of something this special. It truly feels like just the beginning,” Spencer says.
The duo is proud of the recognition the Summit FC has received so far, because it’s an ode to how much the city of Denver believes in women’s sports, and how deeply people want to be part of the movement.
“That’s the foundation of who we are — recognizing and showing all women’s sports. Having a team like Summit FC in our own city is just an added bonus,” Spencer says.
The 99ers Sports Bar is hosting a watch party for Denver Summit FC’s inaugural home opener, which is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 at noon. But that’s just the start. They’re planning a shuttle program to safely transport fans between their bar and home games, with more fun events and watch parties (in their recently expanded patio!) in the works.
“We already have plans in motion to continue expanding opportunities for our community to gather,” Weaver says. “At the end of the day, we’re here because of this community, and we wouldn’t be The 99ers Sports Bar without it.”
