Cleveland One of Three Finalists for NWSL Expansion Team

What the South Gateway Stadium might look like Credit: OSports rendering

Cleveland has made the cut to the final three U.S. cities vying to claim the next addition to the National Women’s Soccer League, along with Cincinnati and Denver.

The news, which was announced by the Cincinnati Enquirer Friday, verifies that Cleveland Pro Soccer’s bid in the past two years was quite credible, one backed up by plans released this summer for a new, $150-million soccer stadium to be built just south of Progressive Field for which funding remains incomplete.

Michael Murphy, the founder of the Cleveland Pro Soccer and chief director of the push, said the city’s shot of hosting the 16th NWSL team was bolstered by a strong pitch after two years of intense planning.

The league toured the proposed stadium site earlier this year, Murphy said.

“As it relates to the other cities, the stadium would be exclusively built for women,” he said in a phone call Friday. “Women’s soccer would be the primarily brand of soccer in that city.”

The announcement comes just two days after Dan Gilbert and Cavs ownership made his own formal request for Cleveland to be the host of a new WNBA team.

Both bids have been packaged with solid examples of a thriving sports culture downtown—from the NCAA championship at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in the spring to the Guardians’ appearance in the ACLS to the Cavs fiery 15-game win streak this fall.

As has Cincinnati.

Unlike Cleveland and Denver, the city has an already-built soccer stadium in their own bid, TQL Stadium, along with a popular MLS team, FC Cincinnati. Moreover, Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark joined the rally on Friday, when she became a member of NWSL Cincinnati, the city’s ownership group.

All which could tilt the win southward. Though Murphy’s not fazed.

“I think it’s great for the sport,” he said. It’s good Clark is “taking interest in the league—but I don’t think it impacts our bid. ”

Denver originally had a stadium site in mind earlier this year, the National Western Center, but it was pulled off the table when the city shifted to a 250-acre site near a transit line.

The league commissioner’s final decision will come in the “next few weeks,” Murphy said.

“We’re thrilled to be here,” he said. “We put forth a very strong big. We got great fans here and the league knows it.”

Cleveland Pro Soccer won a bid for a men’s MLS Next Pro team in 2022. That squad, Murphy has said, likely won’t begin playing until the NWSL process is complete.