{"686647":{"#nid":"686647","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Women\u2019s Soccer Sets Sights on Atlanta","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2028, Atlanta will be home to a yet-to-be-named National Women\u2019s Soccer League team, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nwslsoccer.com\/news\/nwsl-awards-expansion-franchise-to-atlanta\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eannounced Nov. 12.\u003C\/a\u003E The announcement comes at a time when soccer is building momentum in Atlanta and across the U.S. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf history tells us anything, it\u2019s the right place at the right time.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis team steps into a void,\u201d said Declan Abernethy, lecturer in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of History and Sociology\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see women\u2019s soccer be valued as a commercial spectacle and exciting for fans in Atlanta.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta holds a place in women\u2019s soccer history as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics, where the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team won its first gold medal \u2014 the introduction to women\u2019s soccer for many Americans.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince then, the soccer ecosystem has expanded exponentially, in Atlanta and beyond. Atlanta United began playing in 2017, winning the MLS Cup in its second year as a franchise. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Business of Soccer\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArthur Blank, who owns Atlanta United and the Atlanta Falcons and purchased the rights for the new women\u2019s team, paid $165 million for this expansion team. Just two years ago, that cost was nearly a third. The total investment will ultimately be more than $330 million. But as Abernethy points out, the purchase price and timing show that this is a serious endeavor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt shows Blank is a smart business owner \u2014 he\u2019s willing to invest in doing things the right way,\u201d said Abernethy, who has studied and published about both Atlanta United and the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team. \u201cIn five years, this team could be a leader in how it is run and how it spends money. We have such a strong legacy of professional women\u2019s soccer in Atlanta and so much youth talent, it could get very competitive.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Atlanta Is Ready\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s not the first time a women\u2019s soccer team has made its home in Atlanta. The Atlanta Beat played at Georgia Tech\u2019s Bobby Dodd Stadium in the early 2000s, and the Atlanta Silverbacks Women followed.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince those attempts, Atlanta has welcomed a professional men\u2019s team in Atlanta United, along with its ATL UTD 2 reserve team and extensive youth development programs. A $50 million contribution from Arthur Blank is helping build a new home for U.S. Soccer south of the city in Fayetteville with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ussoccer.com\/ntchq\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EArthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s hitting at this opportune time with the U.S. training facility, sparks of excitement for the men\u2019s national team, a strong run by the women\u2019s national team with players from Atlanta, and six World Cup games being hosted in Atlanta next year. It could have a nice impact on the soccer ecosystem here,\u201d said Kirk Bowman, Regents\u2019 Entrepreneur and professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inta.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESam Nunn School of International Affairs\u003C\/a\u003E in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBowman also points to the culture that has grown from Atlanta United and the infrastructure that supports it. Team flags adorn houses, the BeltLine and MARTA connect in-town fans to a downtown stadium that is surrounded by new development at the Gulch \u2014 not to mention a growing pool of legacy soccer players around the metro area, and the surrounding perennial success of ACC women\u2019s soccer teams. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou\u2019ve now had cohort after cohort of female soccer players of all ages, and families with mothers and daughters who have played soccer and are eager to go to games,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they brand it correctly, there\u2019s a lot of enthusiasm and a built-in audience that loves the game.\u201d The WNBA also had record-high viewership last year, with its most-watched game garnering nearly 3 million viewers, demonstrating the increasing popularity of women\u0027s professional sports.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team also enters an open market for fans, without another professional women\u2019s team nearby. Abernethy notes that it takes time to build economic success and fandom, and with more than 50 years of women\u2019s soccer now played, it may have finally hit its stride.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2028, Atlanta will be home to a yet-to-be-named National Women\u2019s Soccer League team, announced Nov. 12. The announcement comes at a time when soccer is building momentum in Atlanta and across the U.S. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In 2028, Atlanta will be home to a yet-to-be-named National Women\u2019s Soccer League team, announced Nov. 12. The announcement comes at a time when soccer is building momentum in Atlanta and across the U.S.  "}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2025-12-01 14:22:47","changed_gmt":"2026-03-19 13:08:55","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678728":{"id":"678728","type":"image","title":"Arthur Blank and NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman announce an Atlanta soccer franchise ","body":"\u003Cp\u003EArthur Blank and NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman announce an Atlanta soccer franchise during the \u201cEmpower Her. Inspire All.\u201d event hosted by AMB Sports and Entertainment at The Interlock on Nov. 11, 2025. (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/sports\/2025\/11\/atlantas-new-nwsl-team-has-an-mls-playbook-to-follow\/\u0022\u003EAbbey Cutrer\/AJC\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1764600073","gmt_created":"2025-12-01 14:41:13","changed":"1764600141","gmt_changed":"2025-12-01 14:42:21","alt":"Arthur Blank and NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman announce an Atlanta soccer franchise ","file":{"fid":"262800","name":"SVXRBCMFHJHPFCK2K2JQYK3YO4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/01\/SVXRBCMFHJHPFCK2K2JQYK3YO4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/01\/SVXRBCMFHJHPFCK2K2JQYK3YO4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5687311,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/01\/SVXRBCMFHJHPFCK2K2JQYK3YO4.jpg?itok=1-JeCqYq"}}},"media_ids":["678728"],"groups":[{"id":"658168","name":"Experts"},{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"},{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}