Boston’s New NWSL Team Building $27M Facility in Brockton

Boston Legacy FC, the city’s new National Women’s Soccer League franchise, has unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art $27 million performance center in Brockton, Massachusetts. The privately funded complex is set to open in time for the team’s 2026 preseason.

Players will train at the new facility while the club kicks off its inaugural NWSL season at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. The 24-acre campus will include a 30,000-square-foot building with workout areas, sports medicine facilities, a film room, kitchen, hydrotherapy amenities and staff offices. Six fields — three turf with lighting, two grass (one heated), and an all-weather bubble dome — round out the site, with several fields open to local youth soccer programs.

“NWSL is the most competitive league in the world, and our players need and deserve a training facility that enables them to be at their best,” said controlling owner Jennifer Epstein. “We are proud to continue investing in not just our club, but in the overall growth of women’s sports, while also bringing further development to our community. We’re grateful to the city of Brockton and local elected officials for their partnership as we finalize this project.”

Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan, a longtime backer of the effort, called the project a “true win” for the city. “It honors our rich sports legacy as the ‘City of Champions’ while creating new opportunities for our young soccer players with high-quality playing fields and inspiration for the future. I am deeply grateful to the Boston Legacy Football Club and Boston Unity Soccer Partners for their proposed investment in our community.”

The facility proposal has already gone through a town hall presentation and Brockton planning board meeting, both open to community input.

Boston Legacy FC will be the 15th team in the NWSL when it joins alongside a new Denver club in 2026. Portuguese coach Filipa Patão, formerly with Benfica, will lead the team. “I’m very excited about going to Boston. I can’t wait to get to the city, meet all the people and start working,” Patão said. “The American league is extremely competitive and that’s one of the reasons I accepted this project: I like competition, difficulty, and getting the players to strive for more and better.”

The team has signed its first two players — American midfielder Annie Karich and Malian forward Aïssata Traoré, the league’s first player from Mali. It also announced a major addition to its investor group this week: WNBA star Aliyah Boston.

“I’m proud to join the ownership group of the Boston Legacy,” Boston said. “This city helped raise me, and the support I felt here shaped so much of who I am. I couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to invest into a franchise that’s building something special for its players, for the city, and for women’s sports as a whole.”

• The complex is part of Boston Legacy’s long-term strategy to develop elite women’s soccer talent in New England.
• Local community use of the fields will expand youth access to high-quality training environments.
• With new star signings, international coaching talent and celebrity investors, the team aims to make an immediate impact on and off the field.
• The project reflects growing investment and visibility for women’s pro sports in the U.S.

Originally reported by Montana Samuels in Patch.