Bay Area reportedly a finalist region for NWSL expansion
The Bay Area is reportedly one of three finalists to land a top-tier women’s professional soccer club.
Boston and Tampa, Florida are the two other finalists to land a National Women’s Soccer League team, according to a report published Friday by Sportico.
Northern California’s bid is fronted by a quartet of former Santa Clara and U.S. soccer stars: Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton and Leslie Osborne. Sportico reported that the bid also has financial backing from private equity firm Sixth Street, which owns part of the San Antonio Spurs as well as Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Attempts to reach members of the bid Friday afternoon were not immediately returned before this story was published.
The ownership groups in Tampa and Boston are tied to owners of the MLB’s Rays and Red Sox, respectively.
According to Sportico, the highest financial bid of the trio is more than $40 million, though the report did not say which group placed that bid.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has previously identified the end of 2022 as a target date to make a decision.
Berman said in October ahead of the league’s championship match that there were 82 “interested groups” that had reached out about expansion, but that the league expected to cut down to five or 10 bids after a Nov. 4 deadline to apply.
A prospective Bay Area team would likely play at San Jose’s PayPal Park, home of the Earthquakes.
The four ex-players involved in the bid are a testament to the Bay Area’s place in women’s soccer: Stanford and Santa Clara are both national powers, having combined to win three of the last six NCAA championships and frequently sending players to the national team. Cal boasts its own history, as Chastain began her college career there and U.S. national team striker Alex Morgan starred for the Bears.
The Boston Breakers have existed in three different iterations of women’s professional soccer over the last 20 years but folded in 2018 after five seasons in the NWSL.
The three cities are vying for an expansion spot that would likely come alongside Salt Lake City, where the Utah Royals played until moving to Kansas City and becoming the Current in 2020 and are expected to return to the league in 2024.