Jeff Kassouf
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said on Wednesday that “it is our intention to admit team 18 and we are targeting a 2028 launch.”
The night prior, Berman stood on stage in Atlanta to announce that the NWSL’s 17th team would begin play in the city at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2028. Arthur Blank, the owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United, will own the yet-to-be-named NWSL Atlanta team.
The NWSL has recently expanded in pairs. Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC began play in 2022, followed by Bay FC and (the return of) Utah Royals FC in 2024. Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC kick off their expansion seasons next year.
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Bay, Boston and Denver all emerged from a bidding process. Atlanta is the first NWSL expansion team to join the league in the NWSL’s new ad hoc process.
“I think the philosophy around our shift in strategy as it relates to expansion remains true, which is that we will now admit teams as we and a potential bidder deem is ready and appropriate, and really use a slightly different filter so that we can make decision more on a case-by-case basis,” Berman, sat next to Blank, said on Wednesday from an Atlanta board room.
“With that in mind, we’re definitely working on expansion. It will likely always be, at least for the foreseeable future, going on in the background and when and if we determine that a deal is ready to be presented to our board and move forward, we’ll be able to add team 18.”
Denver beat out bids from Cincinnati and Cleveland last year for the 16th NWSL franchise.
The NWSL has expanded rapidly in recent years, growing from nine teams in 2019 to potentially 18 by 2028. Expansion fees have grown exponentially during that time, too, from around $2 million to the $165 million paid by Blank to acquire the Atlanta franchise.
Berman has said repeatedly that the major pillars of potential expansion are the right ownership, market and infrastructure — including stadiums.
Atlanta will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with an initial capacity layout of 28,000 fans. The stadium is enclosed and the field surface is artificial turf.
Atlanta was considered for years to be a potential NWSL expansion market. Blank said on Wednesday that part of the timing was about making sure that the franchise “could do competitive justice to the NWSL schedule.” Mercedes-Benz Stadium already hosts NFL and MLS teams, plus 15-18 concerts per year and around 150 private events annually.
Blank also noted the synergy in timing around U.S. Soccer relocating to the Atlanta area next year. Blank donated $50 million to that project.
