The majority owner of the new National Women's Soccer League team in Denver says there are plans to build a dedicated soccer stadium for the club.
The league formally announced on Thursday that Denver was awarded the 16th NWSL team, set to start play in 2026. It will become the city's first top-tier women's professional team.
Sportico previously reported the team was acquired for a record $110 million expansion fee. The majority owner of the team is IMA Financial Group CEO Robert Cohen.
“I believe it’s time for women’s sports in Denver,” Cohen told The Associated Press ahead of a news conference on Thursday. “Denver is an incredible sports town. I’ve been involved in the fabric of sports in Denver for a long time. But as you probably know, we’re the largest city in the United States without a women’s professional team. So, it’s time for us to correct that.”
Cohen would not confirm the expansion fee. He said the club was not ready to share details about the planned stadium and training facilities, including the site.
“We’d like to build a franchise where every player wants to play here, every coach wants to coach here, every executive wants to work here. And the way that we’re going to do that is by building first-class facilities, in terms of a dedicated stadium," Cohen said. “We're willing to make the investments to do that.”
Cohen has prior experience in sports. He started the Denver Sports Commission, which works to bring sporting events to the city. He was a founding member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation and was on the bid committee that for the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
The ownership group includes Project Level, a subsidiary of Ariel Investments led by the Chicago-firm's president and co-CEO, Mellody Hobson, a minority owner of the Denver Broncos. Others in the group include Kuvare founder Dhiren Jhaveri and his wife Neelima Joshi, and Molly Coors of the family that founded Molson Coors Beverage Company.
Cohen will serve as an NWSL governor and Hobson will be alternate governor.
“Our whole idea is that women’s sports are at a generational shift," Hobson said. “We’re watching it in real time and we have a front row seat for what is happening. We want to be a part of elevating women to their rightful place in the pantheon of sports.”
The group held a celebratory news conference and rally in Denver on Thursday afternoon. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston were among those in attendance.
“Girls grow up here, women train here, and then they go off to play for other teams. And we want to make sure we give a place for our homegrown talent to excel at the professional level and, of course, attract people from across the country and across the world to play here in Denver for our new women’s professional soccer team,” Polis said.
Currently the NWSL has 14 teams. A club in Boston will join Denver in kicking off next year. Only one other team — the Kansas City Current — has a stadium dedicated to an NWSL club.
The NWSL added the Utah Royals and Bay FC in 2024. The Boston's teams ownership group paid a $53 million expansion fee, same as Bay FC. The NWSL launched in 2013 with eight teams.
Groups in Cleveland and Cincinnati were also vying for the team. Berman said last week at the league's first media day that the NWSL is still expanding.
“Part of the effort in the next three to six months is really developing our next expansion strategy to make sure that we both capitalize on the incredible demand for an expansion team, as well as balance some of the other up-leveling of our system that needs to happen in order for us to achieve our objectives," Berman said. "So we want to be aggressive with expansion, but we also want to be strategic and smart about how we do that, and make sure that we make those decisions through the lens and our vision to be the best league in the world."
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press
