Atlanta Awarded NWSL Expansion Franchise for Record $165 Million
ATLANTA, GA – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is expanding to Atlanta, awarding its 17th franchise to a team backed by Arthur Blank’s AMB Sports + Entertainment for a league-record $165 million, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The Athletic.The expansion fee surpasses the $110 million Denver Summit FC paid earlier this year and is significantly higher than the approximately $53 million paid by recent additions Bay FC and Boston Legacy.
AMB Sports + Entertainment, which also owns the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United FC, will operate the new club. The team is slated to begin play sometime after the 2026 season and will call Mercedes-Benz Stadium home.
A spokesperson for Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment acknowledged ongoing discussions with the NWSL, stating, “We have had productive engagement with NWSL and others in its stakeholder group on the possibility of bringing an expansion franchise to Atlanta. We have nothing to announce currently as those conversations are ongoing.”
The NWSL has declined to comment.
Blank, 83, is also the owner of PGA TOUR Superstore, the Atlanta Drive Golf Club, and the TGL golf league. He co-founded Home Depot and chairs The Arthur Blank family Foundation.
The arrival of the Atlanta franchise marks the return of professional women’s soccer to the city, which previously hosted the Atlanta Beat in both the WUSA (2001-2003) and WPS (2010-2012) leagues.
The move further cements Atlanta’s growing prominence in the American soccer landscape. The city is set to become the future home of the U.S. Soccer Federation, with its headquarters and national training center relocating to Fayette County, Georgia by 2026. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is backing the new facility, currently under construction and expected to be completed in time for the FIFA men’s World Cup next summer.
Atlanta has long been considered a prime candidate for an NWSL team. In April 2024, prior to a USWNT match against Japan, U.S. women’s national team player Sam Coffey expressed her enthusiasm for the market, stating, “I think it would be a great market for one with Atlanta United hear and now with U.S. Soccer starting to plant some roots here. I think it could do really well here.”
Details regarding the team name, crest, and colors will be revealed at a later date.
