By OkayGoal 
As 2025 winds down, The Equalizer continues its look back at he moments that made the year memorable. Part 2 highlights four more events that left a lasting mark on women’s soccer, both on and off the field.
Atlanta smashes expansion fee record with $165 million bid
One hundred and sixty-five million dollars.
That’s the amount of money that was spent to get an National Women’s Soccer League team in Atlanta. Yes, women’s professional soccer is back in A-Town.
That number smashes the expansion fee from Denver Summit FC, who paid the previous record of $110 million. Boston Legacy FC, joining the NWSL at the same time as the Summit in 2026, paid $53 million.
The city was previously home to the Atlanta Beat of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), which lasted from 2001 to 2003. The team was resurrected in in 2010 as part of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), before the league folded in 2012.
Of course, Atlanta is also home to Atlanta United FC in Major League Soccer. Will the new NWSL team smash attendance records like Atlanta United? The Five Stripes averaged 43,985 fans in the 2025 season playing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The women’s team will play in the same venue, as owner Arthur Blank of AMB Sports and Entertainment owns the stadium itself, as well as the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL.
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