The field of potential suitors for the NWSL’s 16th franchise is coming into focus following last Friday’s preliminary bid deadline. The league is working with N.Y.-based Inner Circle Sports to award the franchise by the fourth quarter of 2024. The new team would join in 2026 alongside the previously awarded Boston franchise. Here’s what we know so far about who’s involved and who isn’t:
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- Cincinnati: FC Cincinnati declined to comment on whether they submitted a bid for an NWSL franchise ahead of Friday’s deadline, but multiple sources said the MLS club’s controlling ownership group is serious about adding a women’s team. Team President & co-CEO Jeff Berding, who is also a minority investor, is leading the charge. The bid group also includes a cohort of female investors from the area. The NWSL team would share TQL Stadium, the $250M soccer-specific stadium FC Cincinnati opened in 2021.
- Cleveland: Cleveland Professional Soccer, which has already been awarded an MLS Next Pro team, confirmed it has submitted a bid to bring an NWSL franchise to Northeast Ohio. CPS co-founder & CEO Michael Murphy declined to comment on the composition of the potential ownership group and whether they had secured a lead investor. The bid calls for the construction of a new $150M stadium as part of a $283M public-private partnership. The group has committed $193M, or 68% of the funding, and is seeking $90M in public money. While the lack of certainty around the facility is a challenge, Murphy touted the fact that the NWSL club would be the top priority. “That’s the opportunity that we’re going to bring to the league, that the stadium is built primarily and purposefully for the NWSL,” Murphy said.
- Minneapolis/St. Paul: USL W League team Minnesota Aurora confirmed a group it assembled submitted a bid to bring an NWSL franchise to the Twin Cities. Aurora Chair of Investor Relations Andrea Yoch declined to share specifics of who is in the investment group but said it consists of a range of leaders from the local community, many of whom are women. She added the club has been in touch with Minnesota United about the NWSL team possibly playing at Allianz Field in St. Paul. Yoch said United has been supportive of the NWSL bid but is not part of the investment group. She also touted the Twin Cities’ history of supporting women’s sports, including the WNBA Lynx and the recently launched PWHL Minnesota team.
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