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A group representing the city of Denver and the NWSL entered negotiations geared toward being awarded an expansion franchise, Sportico reported Monday.
Denver reportedly is the favorite to land a team ahead of Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Denver NWSL expansion news
NWSL TO DENVER?
Per @Sportico, the NWSL entered exclusive negotiations with a Denver group to become the next expansion team. The fee being discussed to join the league is said to be between $105-$120M–making it the biggest expansion fee ever paid in US women’s sports pic.twitter.com/izFWqG4oqc— The Women's Game (@WomensGameMIB) December 18, 2024
BREAKING: The @NWSL has narrowed its expansion talks to one city, Denver.
Expansion fee is in the $105-$120M range, double the previous NWSL number and the highest in U.S. women's sports history. @kbadenhausen and I have more details at @Sportico pic.twitter.com/DGq9iaDEeI— Eben Novy-Williams (@novy_williams) December 17, 2024
Denver is on the cusp of getting its first professional women’s sports team since the late 1990s.
The NWSL is in the closing stages of adding Denver as the league’s 16th franchise, a source close to the negotiations confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday.https://t.co/nM7GfrKMjT— Brendan Ploen (@BrendanPloen) December 17, 2024
The NWSL consisted of 14 teams in the just-completed 2024 season, with a franchise in Boston set for its inaugural season in 2025.
The Colorado group currently in discussion with the league on a franchise is known as For Denver FC and is being led by Ben Hubbard, the co-founder and CEO of the supply-chain company and insurance provider Parsyl.
According to the report, the expansion fee is expected to be at least $105 million and could cost as much as $120 million, which would double the previous expansion price. Bay FC, which joined the NWSL in 2024, and Boston each agreed to a $53 million expansion fee.
Sportico considers Angel City FC the most valuable franchise in the league at an estimated $250 million, with the Houston Dash worth $74 million. The average club value is $104 million.
--Field Level Media
