Denver broadcaster laments that Kansas City is having all the World Cup fun
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Denver voters rejected a 1976 referendum to pay for the Winter Olympics.
- Denver Sports Commission also declined to sign FIFA's host-city contract.
- Kansas City is hosting 2026 World Cup matches while Denver watches from the sidelines.
The 1976 Winter Olympics were once awarded to Denver, but four years before the Games were to begin, voters in the Mile High City rejected a referendum to pay for it. So the Olympics were moved.
“It’s clear that the people of Denver and Colorado don’t want to have the Olympics,” the head of the Protect Our Mountain Environment (POME) said after the vote.
Fifty years later, Denver potentially could have been one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup, but instead fans there are left watching all the fun taking place in Kansas City and elsewhere in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
And that doesn’t sit right with 9 News sports anchor Scotty Gange, and he said as much during a broadcast on Friday. That’s when Colombia and Ghana were playing a World Cup knockout game inside a raucous Kansas City Stadium (aka Arrowhead).
The match was the latest in a weeks-long party that has been going on in KC.
“The biggest loser in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Denver, Colorado,” Gange said. “The FIFA World Cup has been incredible, but the biggest question asked here in Colorado is: Why are the games not being played in Denver? And seeing Kansas City host games is painful. Compared to Mile High, Arrowhead Stadium is a dump. You know what? Arrowhead Stadium is a dump compared to Cherry Creek Stadium.
“The Mile High City is the blueprint for events like this, great facilities for the teams to train, hotels galore, and a massive stadium that fills up for soccer matches. Remember the Denver Summit home opener, and when (Argentina star Lionel) Messi came to town?”
Like the cities’ NFL rivalry, Denver doesn’t quite match up with Kansas City when it comes to soccer facilities. But kudos to the city because it is building the very first soccer stadium dedicated to women ... in the state of Colorado.
It’s cool to see Denver follow Kansas City’s lead on that as the Current’s CPKC Stadium was the first in the world built for a women’s team.
Gange then cut to the chase about why Denver is not a host city. You can trace the reason back to the city losing the 1976 Olympics.
“The simple answer, Denver didn’t want to pay for it,” Gange said. “A spokesperson from Visit Denver shared to me that the FIFA World Cup’s official contract requires host cities to take on all of the costs and commit to an open-ended budget. If they refused to agree to those terms, they would not be considered, and the Denver Sports Commission chose not to sign that agreement.
“Several states with host sites approved tax breaks and funding boosts to help out for the Cup. Governor Jared Polis, nor former Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, approved funds or passed any legislation to help out. Denver is a spectacular sports town, but they’ve rejected major events like this before, like in 1976 when Denver became the only city in history to officially deny the Olympic Games after being awarded the bid, and so the Mile High City watches from the sidelines.”
After his report, Gange added: ”I understand that reasoning. I am bummed, though, because I think Denver would have looked so great to the rest of the world.”
It might have, but KC is really enjoying the spotlight right now.
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 8:59 AM.
