The amount of women’s pro soccer played at Audi Field is about to increase. But in an odd arrangement, two teams from competing leagues — one part-owned by D.C. United, the other with long-standing ties to the MLS club — will use the stadium.
United, which owns Audi Field, has been leasing the 20,000-capacity venue and its training facility to the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League. Starting in August, a yet-to-be-named D.C. franchise, which counts United as a major investor, will begin play in a new women’s circuit called the USL Super League. Home games will take place at Audi Field and possibly another venue as well, people familiar with the plans said.
The Super League team could also end up moving into United’s training complex in Leesburg, Va., and share the weight room and other common areas with the Spirit. But those arrangements remain unsettled and, if that were to occur, the indoor facility would be expanded, one person said.
Advertisement
United and Spirit officials said they did not want to comment.
The women’s leagues, which also declined to comment, are on different playing calendars. The NWSL runs spring to fall, the Super League late summer to spring with a winter break, but they’ll overlap August through October and March into May. Audi Field is also home to United and the United Football League’s D.C. Defenders.
Like the 14-team NWSL, the eight-club Super League received first-division sanctioning from the U.S. Soccer Federation. In essence, the leagues are competitors, though the NWSL has deeper pockets, superior venues, a notable broadcast package and all of the domestic-based U.S. national team players.
Both leagues will have teams in Washington and the greater New York area, but only in Washington will they share a stadium.
Advertisement
Initially, the United Soccer League — which also operates men’s circuits one and two divisions below MLS — sold the rights to the Super League team to D.C. United. United, in turn, collaborated with Attain Sports; they were already co-owners of a USL second-division men’s team, Loudoun United.
Given that existing relationship, preliminary plans called for the new women’s team to play at least a portion of its schedule at 5,000-seat Segra Field, Loudoun United’s home in Leesburg. But Attain Sports withdrew from the project to concentrate on other endeavors. That left D.C. United seeking other partners and a new stadium plan.
The new investors include locally based business executives Devin Talbott, Jordan Stuart and Jan Adams.
Talbott was a Spirit investor during the 2021 NWSL championship season before switching to D.C. United’s ownership group. (He’ll retain his D.C. stake while working with the Super League team.)
Advertisement
Stuart owns a minority stake in Loudoun United. His LinkedIn page indicates he is also senior ownership adviser for D.C. United. Adams does not have prior soccer connections.
At least three pro athletes with local ties are also expected to join the group soon, three people said.
The leading candidate to coach the team has deep ties to the local pro scene: Frédéric Brillant, 38, a former defender who played four seasons for D.C. United before becoming a Loudoun United and D.C. assistant coach.
According to people briefed on the search, Brillant is expected to leave his post as a Utah Royals assistant in the NWSL to take the Washington job.
The team is planning to unveil its name, colors and crest soon.
The NWSL has been bracing for the Super League’s launch. In February, when the USSF granted first-division status to the new circuit, the NWSL said: “The NWSL is growing at an exceptional pace and we’re excited about our future. As the most competitive women’s league in the world, there are limited roster spots available in the NWSL. More opportunities to compete professionally is a good thing and we’re interested to see how a new league might contribute to the continued growth of our game.”
Advertisement
Now in its 11th season, the NWSL more than doubled its average attendance between 2017 and 2023 to 10,432.
An NWSL founding member, the Spirit has played full-time at Audi Field the past two seasons after spending its early years at Maryland SoccerPlex in Montgomery County. In 2021-22, it split games between Audi Field and Segra Field. After averaging 10,886 fans last year, the Spirit is drawing 11,639 this season.
The Spirit, which is owned by Y. Michele Kang, has a lease at Audi Field through at least 2026. Contractually, the team is No. 2 on the scheduling priority list behind United.
The Super League has yet to release its schedule or announce the number of matches per team. The other clubs are in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Charlotte; Lexington, Ky.; Tampa; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Dallas; and Spokane, Wash.
Advertisement
Super League owners in Lexington, Charlotte and Spokane also operate men’s teams in the second-division USL Championship. The new women’s league has signed just a few players and is targeting ex-NWSL players and Americans finishing seasons in Europe this month.
D.C. United is the only MLS organization involved with the Super League. MLS clubs in Orlando, Houston and Salt Lake City own NWSL teams, and the Seattle Sounders are an investor in the Reign.
The NWSL has announced plans to expand to Boston and will add another market within two years. The Super League said it is poised to expand as early as next year to cities such as Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Phoenix, where there are no NWSL or MLS teams.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeBcHyUaGhsZ6WouW6%2F1Kmcq2Wcmq6owcRmrqillaPAbr%2FOnJqeql2srrS0yKeeraeeYq62sMhmnaKdnJl8