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Nashville group seeks to land NWSL expansion team
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- Nashville group seeks to land NWSL expansion team
Could Nashville soon get another professional sports franchise?
Sports agent Lonnie Murray is leading efforts to bring a National Women's Soccer League team to Nashville as the managing partner of HerGame Nashville , which went public this week. The group is bidding for an expansion franchise, which would be the league's 16th club.
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On its newly-launced website, HerGame says it wants to "transcend barriers and set new standards of excellence in women's soccer."
"We are dedicated to creating a dynamic, inclusive environment where every player can thrive and every fan feels connected," the website reads. "Our committed pursuit of excellence throughout every facet of the franchise is aimed at elevating the game experience to inspire a new generation of athletes and supporters. Together, we will contribute to a legacy of empowerment, unity, and unparalleled passion for this universal game."
Nashville has been linked to NWSL and WNBA expansion in recent years, though HerGame represents the city's first concrete bid for a women's professional sports team.
"Tennessee boasts a strong sports culture with highly demonstrable fan support for all its teams across sports platforms," HerGame's website reads. "As one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic cities in the United States, Nashville's economic opportunities, cultural vibrancy, quality of life, and rapid growth strategically positions it as the ideal location to cultivate and grow what would become Tennessee's first women's professional franchise."
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MORE: NWSL franchise in Nashville? USWNT's Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan say yes
Murray worked in the nonprofit sector for nearly two decades and is the first Black woman to be certified as a player agent by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Her husband, former MLB pitcher Dave Stewart, has been at the forefront of efforts to bring an MLB franchise to Nashville .
"We have seen firsthand that Nashville is a soccer city and it's time we have a professional women's soccer team in Nashville — the excitement for the upcoming US Women's National Team match this weekend is proof," said John Ingram, majority owner of Nashville SC and operates Geoidis Park, in a statement. "We said from the very beginning that we wanted to help bring women's soccer to our city and we are thrilled that the group behind Nashville's bid is a finalist in the NWSL expansion process. We have been working with the group to show our support and hope they will play at Geodis Park with Nashville SC.
"While adding these matches to the Fairgrounds schedule is not something we alone control, we absolutely support it and hope the rest of the city will also."
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Founded in 2012, the NWSL surpassed 1.5 million in attendance in September, breaking its previous record over a month before the end of the regular season. Earlier this month, BOS Nation FC was introduced as the league's 15th team. The expansion team, based in Boston, is scheduled to begin play in 2026.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN in April that the league plans to announce its 16th team before the end of the year. Sports Business Journal has reported that Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver and Philadelphia are finalists along with Nashville.
— Jennifer Lindahl contributed to this report.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville NWSL expansion: HerGame bids for team
