From Nationals Park to Empower Field: Lessons for Denver’s Next Great District

Every city has its what-ifs.
In Denver, 58 acres of surface parking at Empower Field could — with the right vision — evolve into the city's next great district. But what will it take?

To find clues, it’s worth looking east — to Washington D.C.’s Navy Yard and the once-overlooked stretch of industrial riverfront that now thrums with life around Nationals Park. There, a stadium didn’t simply anchor a district; careful planning, infrastructure investment and a keen sense of place did.

Can Denver do the same? And crucially — can it do it better?

What D.C. Got Right

When Nationals Park opened in 2008, skeptics were right to be wary. The surrounding Navy Yard was a patchwork of abandoned factories, parking lots, and fragmented streetscapes. Today, it’s a case study in urban reinvention.

The essentials:

• Over $2 billion in private investment within five years of the ballpark’s debut

• Apartment rents climbing 20 percent faster than the citywide average

• Public investments in parks, streets, and riverfront walks paying handsome dividends in foot traffic and hospitality revenue

What mattered wasn’t just the stadium itself. It was the ecosystem built around it — walkable streets, green spaces, mixed-income housing and a steady, patient rollout of complementary uses. Density came later. Identity came first.

The Numbers That Mattered

If data drives decisions, here’s what real estate professionals should note:

• $165 million in public infrastructure upgrades unlocked nearly $3 billion in private development

• Nationals Park and adjacent development created over 6,000 permanent jobs within a decade

• Visitor footfall to the adjacent Yards Park alone surpassed 2 million annually — anchoring cafes, residences, and retail without dependence on ballgames

The lesson is clear. Stadiums light the spark. Streets, parks, and steady absorption fan the flame.

Denver’s Opportunity — and Caution Signs

Denver’s Stadium District stands at a similar threshold. With Empower Field’s long-term future uncertain, developers and civic leaders must focus not on the next headline, but the next generation.

Strengths:

• Light rail stations within easy reach

• Downtown’s gravitational pull just minutes away

• A youthful, fast-growing urban base hungry for daily destinations, not just Sunday rituals

Risks:

• Over-reliance on stadium-driven traffic without building independent neighborhood appeal

• Phasing that moves too fast — or worse, delivers too much "big box" before "big life"

In short: build the streetscape before the skyline.

What the Architects Would Say

As Denver dreams big, leading architects offer a quieter, crucial reminder: success lives in the details.

From ODA New York:
"Think vertically as well as horizontally. True placemaking doesn’t stop at the sidewalk. It moves upward — onto rooftops, terraces, and bridges — creating layered experiences that invite exploration at every elevation."

From Hord Coplan Macht:
"Build landscapes first. Buildings may rise and fall with market cycles, but great parks, plazas, and public spaces create loyalty, resilience, and lasting neighborhood value."

Together, they advocate for a Stadium District designed not merely for arrivals, but for belonging.

Fresh Powder’s Design Principles for District-Scale Placemaking

Identity Before Density
Before the skyline rises, the story must be written.
Great districts begin with a clear sense of self — a narrative rooted in history, ambition, and character. Density without identity risks becoming nowhere.

Story at Street Level
Every block, corner, and courtyard must tell a piece of the district’s larger story.
Wayfinding, materiality, public art, storefront design — all are chapters in how a place introduces itself to the world and welcomes its own back home.

Purpose Beyond the Playbook
A stadium may shape game days, but daily life shapes loyalty.
True placemaking means creating spaces for rituals and rhythms — a morning coffee, an evening stroll, a familiar shortcut — that belong to the everyday, not the exceptional.

Public Space as Brand Space
Parks, plazas, promenades — these are not amenities. They are the brand made visible.
Design open spaces not just for passage, but for pause, play, gathering and memory-making.

Phased Growth, Coherent Story
Districts grow in chapters, but the story must stay true.
Each phase should deepen the place’s identity — not dilute it — ensuring early moves in landscape, lighting and programming stitch together into an enduring whole.

Closing Note

If D.C.’s Navy Yard has taught us anything, it is that districts succeed when they are designed to outlive the novelty of their anchor tenant. Denver has the canvas, the connections, and the cultural momentum. What it needs now is a commitment to place, not just pace.

Because in the end, great districts are not built by bulldozers alone. They’re built by belonging.

Fresh Powder Field Notes | Thoughtful brand strategy and placemaking for the builders of experience.