The new majority owner of Denver’s upcoming National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team has announced plans to construct a dedicated soccer stadium for the club, which is set to begin its inaugural season in 2026. The official announcement confirming Denver as the league’s 16th team was made this past Thursday, marking a significant milestone as the city’s first top-tier professional women’s sports team.
Previous reports suggested that the franchise was purchased for an unprecedented $110 million expansion fee, with Robert Cohen, CEO of IMA Financial Group, as the primary stakeholder. Cohen expressed his belief that the time is ripe for women’s sports in Denver during a pre-conference interview, stating, “Denver is an incredible sports town… We’re the largest city in the U.S. without a women’s professional team, so it’s time for us to correct that.” However, he did not verify the reported expansion fee and indicated that more details about the planned stadium and training facilities are forthcoming.
“We want to establish a franchise where every player desires to be, every coach yearns to lead, and every executive aspires to be part of. We’re committed to building first-class facilities, highlighted by a dedicated stadium,” Cohen said, emphasizing their dedication to making the necessary investments.
Cohen has a strong background in the sports sector, having founded the Denver Sports Commission with the aim of attracting sporting events to the city. He also played a pivotal role in the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation and participated in the bid for the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. The ownership group for the NWSL team also includes Project Level, a branch of Ariel Investments, which is headed by co-CEO Mellody Hobson, who holds a minority stake in the Denver Broncos. Other notable members of the group are Dhiren Jhaveri and Neelima Joshi, as well as Molly Coors from the Molson Coors Beverage Company family.
Cohen is set to function as an NWSL governor, whereas Hobson will take on the role of alternate governor. In sharing her vision for the franchise, Hobson remarked, “Women’s sports are experiencing a generational shift. We’re witnessing this transformation firsthand, and we want to contribute to elevating women to their rightful status in the sports world.”
On Thursday afternoon, a celebratory press event and rally were held in Denver, attended by NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, among others. Governor Polis stressed the necessity of providing local talent opportunities to succeed at the professional level and attracting players from across the nation and globally to Denver.
The current NWSL roster includes 14 teams, with Boston joining Denver in launching next season. Notably, only the Kansas City Current has a stadium specifically designed for NWSL use. The league continued to expand in 2024 with the addition of Utah Royals and Bay FC, with Boston’s ownership group paying a $53 million expansion fee, similar to that of Bay FC. Established in 2013 with eight teams, the NWSL is making strides toward further growth.
Other cities, including Cleveland and Cincinnati, were also in the running for the new team. During the league’s recent media day, Berman indicated that NWSL will continue expanding in the future. She stated, “In the next three to six months, we want to refine our expansion strategy… aiming to balance the demand for new teams while considering the overall enhancement of our league to achieve our long-term objectives. We aspire to expand aggressively but will be strategic about it, ensuring our decisions align with our vision to be the foremost league in the world.”
