We Negotiated Denver's FC Summit Community Benefits Agreement. Here's What That Actually Means.

In December 2025, Denver City Council voted to approve the Santa Fe Yards stadium site for Denver Summit FC. Before that vote happened, Stout Law spent months at the negotiating table making sure the surrounding community had real, enforceable commitments — not just promises.

We served as the attorney who drafted the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) on behalf of West-East Neighborhoods United (WENU), the community coalition that negotiated directly with Denver Summit FC. The result is a legally binding agreement that locks in more than $7 million in community benefits over 10 years.

What Is a Community Benefits Agreement?

A CBA is a legally enforceable contract between a developer and a community coalition. It's not a letter of support or a handshake deal. When it's done right, a CBA creates binding obligations the developer has to meet — with real consequences if they don't.

CBAs emerged from community organizing in the 1990s and have been used in major development projects across the country — from Staples Center in Los Angeles to sports arenas, airports, and transit projects. They're one of the most powerful legal tools communities have to capture value from large-scale development projects that wouldn't happen without public subsidy or public approval.

What's in the FC Summit CBA

The agreement between Denver Summit FC and WENU covers seven major areas of community investment:

Community Investment Fund — A dedicated fund providing direct financial resources to neighborhoods around the stadium site for programs, services, and improvements identified by the community.

Social Equity and Inclusion — Commitments on hiring, contracting, and programming to ensure the stadium creates real opportunity for people in surrounding neighborhoods, not just out-of-town fans and corporate suites.

Sustainability — Environmental standards for construction and operations, with community input on how the stadium and surrounding development impacts the physical environment in the neighborhood.

Transportation and Mobility — Commitments addressing traffic, parking, and transit access so that game days don't just dump congestion on residents who live near the stadium.

Business and Labor — Local business contracting goals and labor standards for construction and stadium operations jobs, aimed at making sure economic benefits flow to local workers and minority-owned businesses.

Arts and Culture — Support for local artists and cultural programming, reflecting the identities of communities that have long been rooted in the Santa Fe Arts District corridor.

Community Oversight — A governance structure giving WENU ongoing standing to monitor compliance and hold Denver Summit FC accountable throughout the life of the agreement.

Why This Matters Beyond the Stadium

Denver is growing fast, and large-scale development deals are getting done every year — many of them with public subsidies, public land, or public approval processes. Communities affected by those projects have a legal right to be at the table, and a well-drafted CBA is how they stay there after the ribbon-cutting.

The FC Summit CBA is one of the most comprehensive agreements of its kind in Colorado history. It took months of negotiations, legal drafting, and community organizing to get there. The City Cast Denver podcast covered the process in detail — including what was at stake and why communities can't afford to leave these deals to chance.

Is Your Community Facing a Major Development Project?

If your neighborhood or organization is navigating a large development project — stadium, transit, mixed-use, or otherwise — having legal representation that knows how to draft and negotiate a CBA can change the outcome. Stout Law has done this work in Denver. We know what enforceable commitments look like and how to get them on paper.

Contact us to talk about your project.