Categories crunchfx

Indy could also add a women’s professional soccer team if MLS expands

Indy could also add a women’s professional soccer team if MLS expands

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Indianapolis looks to apply for an expansion club in MLS, talks are also underway about the possibility of adding a professional women’s soccer team.

Speaking to local media at Lower.com Field on Tuesday night, Mayor Joe Hogsett said there have been some discussions but no decisions have been made yet.

More: MLS says Indy is ‘doing everything right’ but ‘very early in the process’

‘This is a football hotbed.’ Taylor Twellman on Indianapolis MLS’ potential expansion bid

“I think there’s a compelling case that Indianapolis would be well served by both a professional MLS men’s team and a professional women’s league team, but those are decisions that the ownership group has to make.”

Indianapolis’ current women’s team, the Indy Eleven, launched in 2022 as part of the USL W League, a 65-team pre-professional league that began that same year.

Hogsett didn’t provide any details, but there are currently two professional women’s soccer leagues: the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the USL Super League.

The NWSL began as an eight-team league in 2013 and has since expanded to 14 teams. A 15th team (Boston) is scheduled to begin play in 2026. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf in April that the league is “comfortably on track” to select the location and ownership group for its 16th team “early in the fourth quarter.”

NWSL franchise valuations have risen sharply in recent years, which will undoubtedly increase expansion fees. Bay FC (San Francisco) and Boston each paid $53 million, 10 times more than previous expansion teams paid to enter the league.

The USL Super League is scheduled to begin in August 2024 and will feature eight teams in its inaugural season. The USL Super League will adhere to US Soccer’s Major League standards and will be played on a fall-summer soccer schedule similar to other leagues.

The USL Super League is at the top of the USL youth-to-professional continuum, following the USL W-League, USL Academy and USL Youth.

Hogsett noted that he was involved in the ownership group but added: “I would definitely encourage both men’s and women’s good representation in soccer, because they are at the USL level right now with the Indy Eleven and the women’s team.”

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter @Brian_Haenchen.