As the NWSL expands to Columbus, Philadelphia could end up sidelined for a while
It's unclear when the league will expand again after 2028, when Columbus and Atlanta will join. And Columbus' controversial use of public funds has set a bar that some cities might not want to reach.
The NWSL will add Columbus, Ohio, as its 18th city in 2028, and the chances of Philadelphia joining the league any time soon seem to be fading.
Commissioner Jessica Berman understandably was thrilled to cash a league-record $205 million check for the latest expansion team on Tuesday, offered by the Haslam Sports Group. That entity owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and MLS’s Columbus Crew, whose ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in downtown Columbus will be the NWSL team’s home.
But the news may have dealt more than a short-term blow to hopes for other cities, including Philadelphia, whose fans hope for women’s soccer teams of their own.
For one thing, it’s now unclear when the league will expand again after 2028, when Columbus and Atlanta will join. And from a local perspective, a bid to bring a team here quietly hit difficulties before Columbus got its deal done.
The people involved with that bid still aren’t willing to come forward to say who they are. But one source with knowledge of the situation said the hurdle they’ve hit is the biggest one of all: getting a big-money backer to commit long-term to the project.
When, or if, that does happen, the league has indicated in the past that its doors will be open. Berman told The Inquirer in January that she wants a team here, and it wasn’t the first time she’s said it.
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“We love Philadelphia,” she said. “We think Philadelphia will be a great NWSL market one day, and certainly among the cities that would be in contention.”
In September, Berman said the league was switching to a “rolling” expansion timeline instead of setting specific years for admitting teams. Two months later, Atlanta became the 17th team, with Atlanta United and Falcons owner Arthur Blank paying a reported $165 million expansion fee.
“The reason for that was to ensure that we could evaluate each bid on its own merits, and through the lens of what makes sense for the NWSL ecosystem,” Berman said in a news conference Tuesday. “We will continue to work with the bidders that have been engaged in the process and determine — both based on their readiness and our broader league interests — what makes the most sense for future expansion."
When Atlanta kicks off, Philadelphia will become the only city that had teams in the two previous pro leagues — the Women’s United Soccer Association (2001 to 2003) and Women’s Professional Soccer (2010 to 2011) — but isn’t in the NWSL.
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At the time of Atlanta’s announcement, Berman said she wanted another team to start in 2028. It didn’t take long for Columbus to raise its hand, with a first move of hosting the league’s Challenge Cup game in late June.
The Challenge Cup game is an annual matchup of the previous year’s regular-season and playoff champions. It’s usually played right before the regular season starts but was moved this year because playoff winner Gotham FC’s preseason included the inaugural FIFA women’s Champions Cup.
Public funding stirs controversy
Some parts of Columbus’ expansion push drew criticism in the city. The team’s practice facility will be built on the site of a public park not far from downtown, with the City Council backing out of a previous redevelopment plan for residents there.
The council also agreed to spend $25 million in public money and impose a 2% ticket tax for all events at the Crew’s stadium to fund the practice facility and improvements to that stadium for the NWSL team.
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But the plan did not pass the first time it was pitched, and only passed by a 5-3 margin on Monday.
Franklin County, where Columbus is located, also agreed to spend $25 million in public money on the team. That vote passed Tuesday morning, and within minutes, the Crew sent a news release touting a news conference for later in the day.
There’s a long history of men’s sports teams getting public money for venues, and in recent times, women’s sports teams have wanted a piece of that pie. Berman, unsurprisingly, was thrilled to see it in her league.
“I think as we evaluate expansion bids and examine the support from a community, there’s a lot of measures that can show up,” Berman said. “One of the ways is through public support, and I actually can’t think of anything more important or better evidence that the community wants the NWSL in Columbus. As we know, for decades in men’s sports, there has been public support for infrastructure and for ensuring that sports teams are built into the foundation [of cities].”
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She was even more direct on the subject in an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, calling public funding “an important piece, if you look back at history, of what has made men’s teams successful in this country.”
The use of public funds for private sports venues has become increasingly unpopular with sports fans and non-fans alike, especially when team owners are personally wealthy. In 2024, Forbes estimated the net worth of the Haslam family to be $14.4 billion.
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