NWSL Officially Makes Denver Its 16th Franchise

The NWSL is officially headed to Denver.

The league announced Thursday that the Mile High City will become its 16th franchise in the 2026 season. The news was first reported earlier this month with a record-breaking expansion fee of $110 million, more than double the previous NWSL record.

The ownership group is led by Rob Cohen and Mellody Hobson. Cohen, the CEO of IMA Financial Group, founded in 2001 a local commission to help bring events like all-star games, the Women’s Final Four, and Frozen Four to Denver. He also led an attempt at landing Denver a WNBA team. Cohen will be the controlling owner, with Hobson as the alternate governor. Hobson, the former Starbucks chair, is going in on the Denver team with former Washington Commanders president Jason Wright through a firm they run together focused on women’s sports. Others involved include Jon-Erik Borgen, Kaia Borgen Moritz, Neelima Joshi, Dhiren Jhaveri, and Molly Coors.

The ownership says it’s finalizing plans to build a new stadium and practice facility specifically for the team, and those plans—along with the team’s name, colors, and logo—will be unveiled later.

“The club’s plans for a purpose-built stadium and state-of-the-art training facility demonstrate a commitment to providing world-class environments for our players and fans alike,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “With this ownership group’s vision and dedication, we are confident that Denver NWSL will set new standards for excellence on and off the pitch, inspiring the next generation of players and supporters across the Rocky Mountain region.”

A number of well-known USWNT stars, including Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, and Lindsey Horan, are from Colorado.

“Despite producing some of the world’s greatest players and being home to the best sports fans in the country, Denver has been deprived of its own professional women’s team,” Denver mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement. “That changes today.”

Expansion fees for teams in Boston and the Bay Area were both $53 million, though the Northern California ownership group committed $125 million total for the team. Bos Nation FC will also join the league in 2026.

Denver NWSL credited a grassroots group called For Denver FC for being “instrumental” in helping to rally investors in fall 2023 and pursue a bid. Nicole Glaros, Jordan Angeli, Tom Dunmore, and Ben Hubbard led the group, with which Denver NWSL says it will continue to collaborate as it builds its fan base.

Denver beat out competing bids from Cleveland and Cincinnati, the second of which was joined by Caitlin Clark.

The team had already launched a website Thursday and was accepting $30.30 deposits for season tickets.