Nwsl Announces Columbus As League’s 18th Team, With Reported $205m Fee

Columbus, Ohio will beryllium nan location of nan NWSL’s adjacent description team, nan convention and squad ownership announced connected Tuesday.

The 18th squad successful nan apical US women’s master shot convention will beryllium owned by nan aforesaid consortium that runs nan Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer. That postulation of owners is led by Haslam Sports Group (HSG), which besides owns nan Cleveland Browns of nan NFL and a liking successful nan NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.

The squad will statesman play successful 2028, nan aforesaid twelvemonth arsenic nan NWSL’s incoming Atlanta franchise owned by Arthur Blank, proprietor of MLS’s Atlanta United and nan NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The yet-to-be-named Columbus squad will play astatine ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, nan 20,000-capacity location of nan Crew.

According to reports from aggregate outlets, nan Haslams will salary an eye-popping interest for entry: $205m, a grounds magnitude for nan women’s convention that tops nan magnitude Blank paid for nan Atlanta franchise by $40m. The interest is besides much than each but 2 MLS ownership groups person paid to participate that league, pinch only Charlotte FC ($325m) and San Diego FC ($500m) shelling retired more.

“As nan NWSL continues its accelerated growth, expanding to Columbus is simply a earthy adjacent step. This is simply a metropolis pinch a rich | shot tradition, a proven way grounds of support astatine nan highest level, and an ownership group making meaningful, semipermanent investments successful women’s sports,” said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman. “We’re excited to bring nan world’s astir competitory women’s shot convention to Columbus and to spot this organization clasp nan crippled successful a caller way.”

As portion of nan deal, HSG said they would modify ScottsMiracle-Gro Field to adhd a locker room specifically for nan NWSL team. The group besides reached a woody pinch nan Columbus City Council to build a training installation for nan squad connected metropolis parkland, though that was not without its controversy. Opponents of nan woody person pointed retired that nan parkland successful mobility was owed for renewal and was placed adjacent immoderate of nan city’s underserved communities. As portion of nan training installation deal, HSG will lend $3m for nan building of a caller nationalist park.

The NWSL is firmly successful description mode, pinch 8 teams having started play since 2020, doubling nan size of nan convention successful a six-year span. The latest 2 of those additions, Boston Legacy and Denver Summit, began play this year, pinch nan Summit shattering nan convention attendance grounds erstwhile much than 63,000 came to their inaugural location opener successful March.